The Essentials Of A Lease Agreement
It’s no surprise that renting a home is becoming more and more common in today’s economy. The New York Times reports that renting a home is currently more affordable than owning a home in many parts of the United States.
It is important for both tenants and landlords to understand each party’s legal rights and responsibilities in a residential lease agreement. This article provides an overview of some—not all—legal considerations about lease agreements.
What Is A Residential Lease Agreement?
A lease agreement is a legal and binding contract between two parties where one party rents property from the other.
A residential lease agreement is a contract under which a tenant rents property owned by the landlord. The landlord, the owner of the property, is the lessor and the tenant is the lessee.
A residential lease agreement establishes the incorporeal right of the tenant to occupy or use the property in exchange for the landlord to be legally entitled to receive regular payments over a specified period of time.
Key Considerations For Landlords And Tenants
As legal and binding contracts, lease agreements stipulate essential information.
California residential lease agreements include the name of the property owner, names of all tenants, address of the property, description of the premises, security deposit amount, lease payment amount, lease payment due date, and lease term dates. In the interests of both the landlord and tenant, lease agreements should clearly indicate the obligations of the landlord, the obligations of the tenant, and the consequences of any breach of contract.
Limits on occupancy establish that the only individuals who are legally permitted to live on the property are those who are in and have signed the lease agreement. As such, the legal names of every adult who will live on the property should be in the lease agreement. This ensures that each individual who is named as a tenant in the lease agreement is bound to all of the contractual obligations, including payment. If any one particular tenant does not pay rent, the landlord may seek that payment from any of all of the other tenants. Furthermore, a breach of contract from any individual tenant may constitute a breach of contract for all tenants signed to the lease agreement.
It is crucial for residential lease agreements to stipulate the responsibilities of repair and maintenance for each party. The lease agreement must stipulate which party will be responsible in the event that the property becomes either negligently damaged or in need of repair.
A lease agreement should stipulate the circumstances under which the landlord has the legal right to access the property, as well as the amount of advance notice that the landlord must give to the tenant(s) prior to entry. Without these clarifications, landlords are at risk of tenants claiming that the landlord has committed an act of illegal entry or violation of privacy, even if the landlord had received prior verbal or informal consent.
Further, tenants have protections related to the amount of notice required to terminate a lease agreement and it depends on the duration of the lease and/or occupancy.
Landlords must be very careful to abide by habitability requirements in residential premises and which provide a defense to payment of rent.
If you have any concerns regarding residential or commercial lease agreements or a breach of contract, call San Diego Real Estate Lawyer Christopher Villasenor to help you with next steps.
Call Us Today: 619-375-2956
Email Us: chris@sdlawfirm.net
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