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Download rental agreement template in Microsoft Word format.
House Rental Agreement Template: A Great Way to Protect Your Home
Have you recently decided to rent your house out to another party? Do you have all the forms and documentation you’ll need to make your rental agreement legal and binding? If not, it’s certainly not too late, and many of these forms and templates can be found online through various websites. However, a house rental agreement template will differ slightly from other types of rental agreements—apartment, condominium, etc—so you’ll certainly need to be careful and ensure you get the proper forms for your particular purpose. In this article we will briefly define the house rental agreement and provide you with some key pieces of information to look for when considering a house rental agreement template.
What Is a House Rental Agreement?
A basic house rental agreement is a contract between two parties: you, as the landlord, and the tenant(s) to whom you will rent out your house. Typically, these agreements will cover all the terms of the rental contract, from the names and contact information of the tenants, to the rules and regulations regarding the property and the exact time period or term for which the house will be rented. House rental agreements protect both the landlord and tenant from future disputes and serve as legal proof of a rental contract should either party feel the need to seek legal retribution or reparations at a later date.
What Should Be Included in a House Rental Agreement Template?
As mentioned in the opening, not all rental agreements available online are the same. This is because different states have their own various rules regarding the formation of rental contracts, and because the terms of various leases can differ significantly. With this in mind, whenever possible you should start by searching for rental agreement forms that are provided specifically for your particular state, and at minimum, contain all of the following information:
• Landlord and tenant names and information. Since the rental agreement is a contract between 2 separate parties, the name and contact information of both the landlord and the tenant should be featured near the top of the template.
• Rental terms. The terms of the rental contract, including the exact dollar amount the tenant agrees to pay each month, the date each month when the rent becomes due and the consequences for paying the rent late (late fee, etc.) should all be outlined clearly in the agreement template. In this section you will also want to clarify the span of the lease (6-months 1 year, etc.).
• Rules to live by. If the landlord feels the need to outline any specific rules for the property, such as rules regarding pet ownership, loud noise, or hanging items on the wall, these rules should be specified and agreed upon by both parties.
• Consequences. To deal with property rules that are broken or ignored, the landlord can specify in the agreement certain consequences for breaking those rules, such as a monetary fine, or the termination of the lease altogether.
• Signatures and Date. No rental agreement is official until it is signed and dated by all parties involved.
As a landlord, a house rental agreement template can save you the time, money and hassle of hiring an attorney to construct this document for you, but before putting this template into use it’s never a bad idea to have the form looked over by your legal representative just to ensure the document meets all of your state’s specific requirements.