How Apartment Leases Work

How Apartment Leases Work

Considering moving to a new apartment of your choice? There’s just one thing between you and the apartment – it’s lease.

A lease agreement is a legally binding contract between the property owner and tenant laying out the ground rules for living in the apartment. A lease agreement can usually vary from a single page to many, describing in detail for how long the tenant will be living in the apartment ( 6 months, 1 year, 2 years or more), how much rent will the tenant pay for the apartment (monthly or quarterly) and on what day. Other major points that a rent agreement may include is the amount of security to be deposited to the land owner by the tenant , who is responsible for maintenance and repairs of what, even things like pet rules, allotment of parking spots can also get a mention on the lease agreement.

Being a clear and specific written record laying out the general rules and regulations, it provides security to both the landlord and the tenant. It gives security to the landlord in a way that he can rest assured that he will receive a monthly income in the form of rent for the apartment leased by the tenant. It provides security to the tenant in a way that he can call a place his own for the time specified in the lease and that his rights are protected by a legal document.

Now that you know what a lease generally is, let’s look at what a lease exactly covers –

General rules and regulations

Most important aspect of a lease agreement is it’s financial specifics. A lease will clearly mention how much you need to pay in a month as rent, late fees to be paid if there’s any delay in the payment of rent, move in costs like security deposits. Usually, security deposits are to be returned by the landlord to the tenant at the end of the lease agreement. This is the fund landlord will dive into to repair all the damages, if any, caused to the apartment during the tenure of your residence.

Terms and conditions for early termination

A lease usually lasts a year. If you decide to change apartments before your lease ends, there are specific terms and conditions mentioned in the lease to do it the right way. You can not just call your landlord and say Ciao! Usually, there’s a notice period to be served before leaving your apartment.

Read these terms carefully in your lease agreement before writing your name on it.

When does a lease become void?

When the rules and regulations mentioned in the lease agreement are not followed, a lease agreement can go void and your security deposit can be confiscated by the landlord. Say, if you sneak in an extra roommate in your apartment without informing prior to the landlord, your agreement can go void. Or bringing in a pet when it’s clearly mentioned in your lease agreement to not have pets can turn your lease agreement invalid. Many other factors can lead to your agreement turning void like continuously delaying rent payments, causing extensive damage to the property and the likes.

To get a better idea, a lease becomes void when the tenant fails to hold up his end of the lease agreement, whatever it may be.

Looking to move out of your apartment? Check out our rent lease apartments in Pryor.