Using A Standard Rental Contract

A standard rental contract can be useful to protect yourself and you clients or tenants’ rights. As for apartment renting and some equipment rentals the renter will be required to make a security deposit, or an amount of money kept by the renter as an insurance policy that will be returned at the end of the rental agreement, provided there are no costly damages to the apartment, housing or equipment. When renting a living space, an agreed upon duration of the rental contract is enough for a landlord to hold onto your security deposit. Some landlords have more detailed renal contracts than others but it is most definitely a binding contract that tenants must plan their life around. In turn the landlords must also maintain the building and grounds, fixing gas leeks and regular wear and tear damage. It is a liability for landlords to not immediately take action to repair living situations that violate health and safety regulations that could cause a building to be deemed uninhabitable. Lawsuits can arise if both parties are to blame for example if there is bug damage but the tenant in a diagnosed obsessive compulsive hoarder and has created the problem themselves.

Hopefully your standard rental contract has covered your specific situation, or the tenant is cooperative, if not it will be up to the courts and eviction laws as to what is to be done. In case of an immediate and unforeseen need to travel, tenants will often attempt to “sub lease” their living space while they do not need it in attempt to reclaim their security deposit when the standard rental contract matures.

In the standard rental contract landlords may specify if the renters can have pets, smoke, and can set a due date for each months rent with a late charge if the tenants pay the rent after a certain day of the month or week. The lease may end normally or with various types of eviction notices such as a Pay or Quit Notice from non payment, a Cure or Quit Notice if you do something you previously agreed not to when signing your rental contract or if other tenants complain about you, and finally a Non-Eviction Move Out Notice which is fairly open ended they could want to remodel your living space or to get a new tenant. It does require a seven, thirty or sixty day notice depending on if you are renting weekly or monthly and on the laws in your area. The eviction laws are detailed and many and tenants have rights to counter claim and fight back. Usually if the behavior in question is corrected or you pay rent in full, this will resolve the problem.

With cars, sound and video or computer equipment there is always the risk of damage to the rented product. Will the rocker smash the guitar into a speaker or blow it out or will the sixteen year old get in a fender bender? To cover these potential unfortunate occurrences which may produce financial loss for the company, renting companies are free to specify rental details in a standard rental contract. Maybe the car company will only rent to 18 year olds with a valid ID and clean driving records and strongly encourage adding a non refundable insurance fee to the bill. Maybe the band must have enough money for a security deposit that will be held on their credit card till the equipment is returned safe and sound. Often before doing business renters are required to sign these standard contracts after downloading them from company website or when picking up the equipment or having it delivered or before moving in. Standard rental contracts are set in place to protect both the renters and the rental companies’ rights.

By: Gloria Smith

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www.rentalcontractforms.com