Questions about Rental Agreement Laws

A rental agreement is a legal contract that is signed between the landlord and the tenant which covers all information related to a property rental by a tenant. It is an important document to have because if a problem arises between the two parties, it is the one legal document that can be referred to, in order to arrive at a solution.

Listed below are a few questions answered by lawyers on issues related to rental agreements.

Can a landlord amend a rental agreement to say that if the rent is delayed, the tenant will be given 15 days to leave the premises and the home will be put up for sale?

Without written consent from both parties, the rental agreement cannot be amended by either party once it has been signed.

How do I get a rental agreement for my timeshare in North Carolina?

You can use any residential lease agreement that is specific to North Carolina for a timeshare. You would need to include a copy of the timeshare association rules with the agreement and get the prospective tenant to acknowledge that he has received the document along with the lease.

A link to an example of a standard lease can be viewed at http://www.ilrg.com/forms/lease-res/us/nc

Can you help me find a blank rental agreement?

One way to get a blank rental agreement is to visit your local office supply store and ask for it there. Alternatively, you can go online, buy it, print it out, and fill it in or save it as a blank document and fill in the details when you are offline.

Pay for lease forms are available at http://www.ilrg.com/forms/lease-res/us/ny or you can use one for sale at http://www.uslegalforms.com/ny/NY-864-1LT.htm

Both the forms can be downloaded and filled in offline or printed out and filled in by hand.

I paid a deposit when I signed my rental agreement. Five days later, I changed my mind about moving in. I was told to sign a cancellation notice and informed that I would still be held liable to pay the rent. Is there a legal way I can get out of my lease although I didn't take possession of the apartment?

Based on the facts of your case, your landlord is allowed to hold you liable for the rent legally as per the rental agreement. By not receiving the rent, the landlord will be "damaged" and is legally entitled to receive compensation from you for the damages.

However, the landlord also has a duty to attempt to mitigate the damages. This would mean that in the event that you signed a 6 month lease, the landlord has to make an attempt to lease to another party and not expect you to simply pay the rent instead.

I live in Virginia and created my own rental agreement from a CD. Do I need to have it reviewed by an attorney?

Residential leases are fairly standard but it is always best to have your agreement looked at by an attorney.

You can review your lease with a few examples of Virginia leases that are accessible at the links below.

http://www.homeproperties.com/pdfs/leases/lease_vir.pdf

http://www.ilrg.com/forms/lease-res/us/va

At the most basic level, rental agreements include the tenant’s name, the property address, and specific details of the agreement including rent amount, payment information, and details about the length of the contract. In addition, they could also list responsibilities of the tenant and mention any utilities or amenities that form a part of the property.