Now I need all of you expertise as to what to include in my lease. What are some of the clauses that aren't so obvious and you wish you would have known when you started. This is a one year lease, with tenants maintaining yard, snow, no pets, all utilites except water. Thanks --205.188.192.179

1- term of lease

2- amt. of rent charged, how paid, where paid, when paid

3- what happens when they default on lease

4- security deposit rec'd

5- who pays utilities

6- who maintains what

7- trash removal

8- rules on locks, parking, storage, guests, noise, pets, waterbeds and aquariums, using appliances that draw excessive current

9- drug-free housing clause

10- radon clause

11- lead paint clause

12- no harrassment of landlord

13- tenant pays atty fees if landlord wins eviction proceedings

14- tenant hold his own renter's ins.

15- lease not recorded in any public records

16- waiver clause

17- abandonment clause

18- subordination clause

19- severability clause

20- surrender of property clause

21- who pays for excessive cleaning upon termination

22- waiver for order to quit

23- abandoned property

24- renewal terms

25- joint and several clause

26- all tenants' signatures

that should get you started.

get a landlording book for your state. a bad lease can bite you in the butt! --216.37.225.116

a. all requests for repairs must be in writing (in reality, calls work OK but this will protect you in case of a dispute)

b. no criminal activity on the premises (just expands Mary's #9 a bit)

c. Clause allowing landlord to enter the property given a specified advance notice period (usually 24 hours)

But Nancy's advice is perhaps best - you'd do well to get a book or something that has a complete lease form you can use.

We have had good luck getting our realtor to give us copies of our state board of realtors' standard lease, which is great - extremely thorough, they thought of things I never would have. If you know a realtor, try asking for this. --12.110.208.254

Most housing laws are local, so this may not be important where you are, but it is for me: The lease must state that the tenant "waives his right to notice to quit." If this is not included, there is an extra 30 day period in any eviction.

Definately make sure that you have the tenant sign a lead paint disclosure form and give them the booklet. You can down load these from the EPA web site, and I think there is a link on this site.

I also put the tenant's security deposit in a regular savings account at my bank and have them deposit the rent into that account. That way there is no dispute about when the rent was paid (the bank statement will say), and my bank allows me to transfer the rent money into my account over the phone.

Hope that stuff helps! --207.24.91.5

HJ You can buy my book here at Mr. Landlord. Go to Books...state law and under books there I am. "Everything you wanted to know about being a Landlord but didn't know who to ask". I specifically wrote it for new beginners.

It will save you a lot of headache! --67.217.181.242

them to the lease.

Very important, if the building was build

prior to 1978, please do yourself

favor and attach the Lead Based Paint

disclosure form to your lease -- your can

sued like crazy on this one.

Do drug testing

Criminal background test (County Building

have them for free).

Go to your local book store (Barnes and

Noble, Borders) and it get a book

Landlording from the Finiance section.

Good Luck

Majek

majek501@yahoo.com --12.33.189.81