Lease agreement template

Lease agreement

Starting text for counsel. Replace every bracket. Do not ask anyone to sign until a lawyer has adapted this text to the parties and to the law that will govern it.

This lease agreement is made on [Effective date] between [Landlord legal name], of [Landlord address] ("Landlord"), and [Tenant legal name], of [Tenant address] ("Tenant"). The Landlord will let the Tenant occupy the premises. The Tenant will pay the rent. A city, a state, or a country may require a form, a deposit cap, a disclosure, or a notice that this text does not contain. Counsel writes those rules into the PDF. This page does not replace them.

1. The premises

The Landlord lets the premises at [Premises description] to the Tenant for the term below. The description includes what is inside the space and what is shared, such as a hall, a yard, or a parking space named at [Shared areas]. Furniture or equipment included is listed at [Included items], and the Tenant returns those items at the end, fair wear excepted. The Tenant may use the premises for [Permitted use] and not for another use without the Landlord's written consent. The Tenant does not register the premises as a business address if [Address use] forbids it. The Landlord states that it has the right to let the premises, or names the person whose consent is still required at [Superior consent]. A missing consent is counsel's problem to solve before anyone signs, not a surprise after the Tenant moves in.

2. Term and rent

The term starts on [Start date] and ends on [End date], unless [Renewal] describes a renewal that both parties must still sign. Holding over is not a renewal. The Tenant pays [Rent] in [Currency] each [Rent period], due on [Due day], by [Payment method]. The first payment is [First payment] and it covers [First period]. Rent does not include the costs listed at [Tenant costs], which the Tenant pays directly. A cost the Landlord pays and then recharges is listed at [Recharged costs] with the way it is calculated. The Landlord gives the Tenant a written notice before a recharged cost is due. Counsel writes any limit a local rule places on raising the rent at [Rent change]. If that bracket is empty, the rent stays the figure in this section for the term.

3. The deposit

The Tenant pays a deposit of [Deposit] by [Deposit date]. The Landlord holds it as [Deposit holder] requires, which may be a separate account if the law says so. The deposit is not rent, and the Tenant may not skip a rent payment because a deposit was paid, unless the law requires that treatment and counsel writes it in. At the end, the Landlord returns the deposit minus the amounts [Deposit deductions] allows, within [Return days] days, with a short written list of any deduction. A local cap or a required timeline overrides the figures in this section. Counsel checks those figures before anyone signs. The Landlord does not apply the deposit to its own unrelated invoice.

4. Care of the premises

The Tenant keeps the premises clean and tells the Landlord promptly about a defect that affects safety or the structure. The Landlord repairs the items at [Landlord repairs]. The Tenant repairs the items at [Tenant repairs], except fair wear. The Tenant does not alter the premises, and does not paint, install, or remove a fixture, unless [Alterations] allows that change and says who owns the fixture at the end. The Tenant does not overload the services of the building. If a law requires a smoke alarm, a check, or a certificate, the party named at [Safety duties] does that task. Leaving the duty unnamed is not a decision. Counsel names the party. The Tenant allows the work to be done at a reasonable time.

5. Entry and quiet use

The Tenant may use the premises without interference from the Landlord except for the visits this section allows. The Landlord may enter to inspect, to repair, or to show the premises to a later tenant, on [Entry notice], at a reasonable hour, except in an emergency, when notice may be shorter if the law allows. The Landlord does not use a visit to harass the Tenant. The Tenant does not disturb other occupants beyond [Conduct]. A repeated breach of that conduct, after written notice and [Conduct cure] days to stop, is a ground for ending only if the governing law allows the Landlord to end for that reason. Counsel writes the ground in the words the law uses, at [End for conduct], and deletes a ground the law does not allow.

6. Ending the term

Either party may end the term at the end date by written notice of [Notice period], given the way [Notice method] describes. A local rule may require a longer notice or a special form. That rule wins, and counsel attaches the form if one is required. If the Tenant stays without a signed renewal, the consequences are only those [Holding over] states, and only if the law allows them. The Tenant returns the premises empty of the Tenant's goods, clean, and with the keys and the access items at [Keys]. The Tenant pays rent through the date it actually returns possession, and does not receive a refund of rent already due for a period it occupied. The Landlord may remove goods left behind only as [Left goods] and the law allow.

7. What local rules can change

Counsel reads this text against the law of the place where the premises are. A required disclosure, a deposit cap, a ban on a fee, a rent rule, a registration, or a procedure for recovering possession can all override a sentence here. Counsel deletes the sentence or replaces it. The parties do not treat a private warning as a court order. This text does not decide immigration status, a housing benefit, or a tax on the rent. Those stay outside it unless counsel adds a sentence that is accurate. The Landlord and the Tenant each give the notices a statute requires, even if this text is shorter. The signed PDF, not this web page, is the document they sign.

8. Law

The laws of [Governing law], including the mandatory housing rules of the place of the premises, govern this text. The parties name the courts of [Courts], subject to any court the housing law requires. A change is effective only when both parties sign it. If one sentence cannot be enforced, the rest stays, except where the law says the whole letting fails. A delay in enforcing a right is not a waiver. Notices go to the addresses above, or to the premises if [Premises notice] says the Tenant may be notified there. Nothing in this text limits a right the governing law does not allow the parties to limit.

Signatures

Landlord

Name: [Landlord signatory name]

Title: [Landlord signatory title]

Signature: ______________________________

Date: [Landlord signature date]

Tenant

Name: [Tenant signatory name]

Title: [Tenant signatory title]

Signature: ______________________________

Date: [Tenant signature date]