Are you planning to enter into a rental agreement? In that case, you would need to make sure that it is legally valid and consists of all the important pieces of information that matter. It should be signed duly by both parties – the landlord and the tenant, but more importantly – all the important facts and items should be there. Here are some of the most essential things that should be included in a rental agreement form.
Names
The form needs to have the names of both parties mentioned. There should not be any abbreviations, and the whole name of the landlord and all the tenants must be included in the form. The names should be properly mentioned, to help avoid any confusion. Both parties need to be identified, and in case there is some argument or legal problem later on, the court of law can easily identify the parties concerned and resolve the differences between them.
Property description
The document should describe the property in question in full detail, including the full address as well as the nearest landmarks. This can help avoid any confusion for the court of law. The agreement can be assistive enough to identify the said property.
Rent amount
How much rent must be paid to the landlord, and after how much time, should clearly be mentioned in this document. In any lease agreement, the rent amount as well as the date of payment are two of the most important things that need to be written properly. It can also help avoid confusions for either the landlord or the tenant, and neither can say anything else about it.
It is also essential to make a mention whether any late fees would be charged. The fees, if applicable and allowed, need to be reasonable and must abide by the rent control laws that are in place. The fees can also be enforced in case the lease agreement specifies the same. There should be an idea about what kind of payment modes will be entertained, or the payment modes that can be used by the renters to make the rent payment.
Number of tenants
There should be a proper mention about the total number of people who will be in the property as renters. Renters can be single or multiple, and in case one renter cannot pay or is unable to pay the rent amount, the landlord can have the other tenants pay for the same. In some states, there is a limit on how many tenants can be allowed in a property. There are personal reservations as well, and where one landlord might be okay to have even 10 – 12 people as renters in their properties others might not be ready to accept over 5 tenants.
Signature
Unless the document is duly signed, it will not be held as legally valid. In many states, this kind of form must be signed as well as duly notarized, and you have to find out what the rules of your state are – when it comes to rental contracts. It could well be the case that your state or town needs you to just sign the document, and that might be enough. But it is better to be safe rather than sorry. Find out about the California lease agreement laws in your area, and proceed accordingly.
