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Lease FAQ

How do I get my lease agreement document from this website?

It's simple:  choose the type of lease agreement you need by clicking on the appropriate button to the right. If you're not sure which document you need, read the helpful descriptions of all our forms on the home page. Once you make your selection, you will be taken to our on-line form to provide us with the information we need to immediately assemble your custom lease. We integrate all your information right into the document and make it available to you in seconds, ready for your signature!

When is a lease necessary?

Any time you are allowing another person to use your property in exchange for money you should document the arrangement with a written lease agreement. Without a written lease or rental agreement too many important issues are left unclear. For example, if you are leasing your vehicle or house to somebody, who is responsible for maintaining insurance on the property? Or, say you are leasing farming equipment or tools to another person who suddenly stops making the rental payments? Another all-too-common problem arises when the rent is paid late: what are the agreed upon penalties for that violation? The point is that putting all of the important terms in writing GREATLY reduces the chance that some unforeseen circumstance will arise and throw the whole arrangement into doubt. With our professionally-drafted, custom-tailored leases, you will avoid the headaches of "what if?" by nailing down every detail of the lease transaction.

What's the difference between a lease agreement and rental agreement?

Only the name. The documents we sell are technically called "lease agreements" but they have come to also be known as "rental agreements" because all lease agreements require the payment of rent. "Rent" is a legal term for the payment of money for the use of property over time.

What if I purchase a lease form but it doesn't match my agreement?

This won't happen at rental-lease-agreement-form.com because you choose what provisions go into your lease. You select the type of lease applicable to your facts, tell us the names of the parties, the duration of the lease, amount of rent, description of the property and then select from a variety of optional provisions. We let you choose whether to include options to buy the lease property, renew the lease term, prepay a cleaning deposit and/or last month's rent, and even an option to type in your own custom provisions if you have something unusual in your agreement. In short, you design this lease yourself to exactly match your circumstances so there's no chance your form won't be a match. But if for any reason you are unsatisfied, we are happy to give you a refund at any time within two weeks of your purchase.

General Questions About Lease Agreements

Who is a Leasee?

The term lessee applies to the person making rent or lease payments to another for the use of the property. When the lessee is leasing an apartment, house, or commercial real property, the lessee is often referred to as the tenant.

Who is a Leasor?

The person who owns the property and receives rent or lease payments from another to use the property is sometimes called the lessor. When the lessor is leasing an apartment, house, or commercial property to another, the lessor is often referred to as the landlord.

What is the Lease Term?

The term of the lease is the length of time the lessee has the right to pay for and use the property. The term begins running on the lease commencement date. In our documents, the term is measured in months, such as 36 months for a three-year lease. Be sure you enter the number of months in this format, using an actual number to represent the number of months the lease shall continue.

What is Property Description?

This means a technical description of the property, i.e., one that allows a particular piece of land to be found and identified. It is not the address of the property. If you choose, you can use the legal description for the property in the deed conveying the property to you. The description you enter here needs to be sufficient to allow someone to locate the property that is being leased.

What is Monthly Rental Payment?

The rent or rental payment is the amount of money the lessee must pay on the first day of each month to the lessor for the use of the property. Enter that amount here as the number of U.S. dollars. Please don't include the dollar sign or the comma; we will insert those for you.

What is the Use of Property Clause?

Writing in a description of how the property will be used ensures that both the landlord and the tenant understand and agree on this point. Without such a description in the lease, the tenant may develop new uses for the property that the landlord never intended or would have agreed to. Whatever description you type in here will restrict the tenant to that use and reasonably related uses.

What is the Lease Commencement Date?

The lease commencement date is when the lessee takes possession of the property and begins to use it. That is the date you should enter in the box on this line. The lease term begins to run on the lease commencement date.

NOTE: The lease commencement date is NOT the date on which the parties sign the lease. The signing date could be months ahead of the time that the property becomes available for use.

What are the Special Provisions?

In this section, you should describe any unique or unusual parts of your agreement that probably aren't part of our standard form. In the case of an automobile lease, an example of a special provision could be that the automobile is not to be taken out of state or driven more than 15,000 miles per year. In the case of a residential lease, a special provision might be that no smoking is permitted inside the premises.

These are just a few examples. Use the special provisions option to enter your own custom provisions and ensure that your entire agreement is written. If there are no special provisions, just select no in response to the special provision option, and your lease agreement will be governed by the most common provisions already included in our standard form.

If you decide to include special provisions in your lease, just select yes in response to the special provision option and describe the provisions in the box that appears. The provisions you describe will be automatically inserted into your document and become binding. Describe the provisions in the form of short declarative sentences, such as Parties acknowledge preexisting, large scratch on front passenger door.

NOTE: Whatever special provisions you write in will supersede any other conflicting provisions in your lease.

What is the Buyout Option?

Many lease agreements include the option for the lessee to purchase the property being leased. We offer three buyout options you may choose from to include in your lease agreement. The three options are:

  1. At the end of the lease for a preset amount. This option allows the parties to include the so-called one dollar buyout provision where the lessee purchases the property for one dollar upon the expiration of the lease term; it's an effective way to make a lease act as an installment purchase agreement. Of course, the price doesn't have to be one dollar; you may enter any predetermined purchase price you see fit.
  2. At any time during the lease for a preset amount. Like the option above, this buyout provision allows the parties to agree in advance on what the lessee must pay to purchase the property but gives the lessee the flexibility to make the purchase at any time during the term of the lease.
  3. At the end of the lease for the fair market value. This buyout option is useful when neither party is certain what a fair purchase price of the vehicle will be at the end of the lease. Using this valuation method sets the price equal to the amount reported in trade valuation books such as Kelly Blue Book. Whatever amount is shown in such trade valuation books will be the one the lessee must pay to purchase the property at the end of the lease.

What is the Prepay Cleaning Deposit Clause?

Including this provision in the lease will require the tenant to make a deposit to cover any cleaning or repairs the Landlord is required to make to the premises when the tenant moves out. The Cleaning Deposit must be made on or before the lease commencement date. By including this provision in the lease, the landlord can help protect against the risk that the tenant will leave the property in an unsanitary or damaged condition. Our Cleaning Deposit provision requires the landlord to refund any portion of the deposit not reasonably necessary to clean or repair the premises. If you would like to include such a provision in your lease, simply select yes from the drop-down list in the online form. Otherwise, select No.

Note: if you choose to include this provision by selecting yes, you will be prompted to enter an amount for the cleaning deposit.

What is the Prepay Last Month's Rent Clause?

Including this provision in the lease will require the tenant to pay the last month's rent on or before the lease commencement date. By including this provision in the lease, the landlord can help protect against the risk that the tenant will abandon the premises without having paid for the final month. If you would like to include such a provision in your lease, simply select yes from the drop-down list in the online form. Otherwise, select No.

What is the Option to Renew Clause?

Including this provision will allow the lessee to automatically renew the lease at the lessee's option after the initial term expires. Allowing the lessee that right can make the agreement more flexible because the lessee knows it can remain on the premises if needed but is not required to remain longer than the initial term. If you would like to include such a provision in your lease, select yes from the drop-down list in the online form. Otherwise, select No.

Note: if you choose to include this provision by selecting yes, you will be prompted to enter the number of renewal options (up to five) the lessor has, the length of each successive renewal term (in months), and how the rent will change for the subsequent terms.

If you've included the option to renew your lease, you must select the number of renewal terms the lessee has and how long each of those terms will be. For example, let's say the initial term of the lease is 120 months (ten years). The lease may grant the lessee three additional terms at 36 months each, effectively extending the lease for up to nine more years (at the lessee's option). These are the choices you must make now. Enter the number of renewal terms, then type in the number of months for each term.

Note: The lessee is never required to exercise all or any of the options. As each renewal term expires, the lessee can choose whether to exercise additional options and remain on the premises.

If the tenant exercises an option to renew the lease at the end of the initial term, the parties need to agree on the new rent amount for those subsequent periods. Our lease agreements give you two choices for determining the rent, as explained below:

Fair Market Value: If this option is included in the lease, then the monthly rent for renewal terms will be what the parties agree is a fair market value rent for that property at that time. This provision gives the parties the flexibility to wait and see what a fair market rent would be at a future date, but it leaves the issue open for disagreement later on.

Predetermined Amount: If this option is included in the lease, then the monthly rent for renewal terms will be whatever you enter now. This provision removes the uncertainty about what the rent will be at a later time, but whatever is chosen now may not be in line with fair market rates in the years ahead. If you choose this provision, you will be prompted to enter the dollar figure of monthly rent in renewal terms.

How Does a Lease Sample Look?

Here's how the first page of a lease agreement might look:


LEASE OF RESIDENCE

     THIS LEASE OF RESIDENCE ("Lease") is made by and between John Doe ("Landlord") and Jane Doe ("Tenant").

RECITALS

     WHEREAS, Landlord is the owner of certain real property located in the County of AnyCounty, State of Utah and more particularly described in Section 1 hereunder, together with any and all rights, title and interests of Landlord in, of and to the easements, rights-of-way, licenses and appurtenances pertaining to said property ("Premises"); and

     WHEREAS, Landlord desires to lease the Premises to Tenant and Tenant desires to lease the Premises from Landlord, pursuant to the terms and conditions set forth below.

AGREEMENT

     NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing, of the mutual promises of the parties contained herein, and of other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto covenant and agree as follows:

SECTION 1: DESCRIPTION OF PREMISES

     Landlord leases to Tenant the premises located at 1234 Elm Road, in the City of AnyOtherTown, County of AnyCounty, State of Utah.

SECTION 2: TERM

     The term of this Lease is Thirty Six (36) months, beginning on the 1st day of September, 2000 and terminating on the 1st day of September, 2003 ("Term").

SECTION 3: RENT

 

     A. Amount of Rent. Tenant agrees to pay, without demand, to Landlord as rent for the Premises the sum of Nine Hundred dollars ($900.00) ("Rent") per month in advance on the 1st day of each calendar month beginning the 1st day of September, 2000.


 

 
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