Leases are important business contracts. After choosing the “right” tenant, having a valid, enforceable, and favorable lease is the best protection of a landlord’s rental business. Unfortunately, a poorly drafted lease or a lease that fails to include required disclosures or legal requirements can result in a nightmare for a landlord. A written lease provides landlords certainty of the agreed upon terms that govern the landlord-tenant relationship.
Many landlords buy a lease “off the shelf”, find a form online, or borrow one from a friend. Worse, they put these leases into use without really considering the lease’s contents. When trouble brews, these landlords are often unpleasantly surprised to find that their “standard” lease does not help them and maybe even hurts their cause.