The Importance of a Rental Lease Agreement
A rental lease agreement is a contract entered into between the landlord, in which the use and enjoyment of his/her property is given to another person, the tenant, for a specific period of time, in return for the payment of rent. It is of great importance to have a rental lease agreement between the lessor and his prospective tenants.
Although it is not a requirement for a lease agreement to be in writing, it is important to have it in writing, as a verbal lease agreement may be difficult to prove, should a dispute arise between the landlord and the tenant.
Important obligations by both the landlord and tenant, which should be addressed in the lease agreement:
- Rental amount payable;
- Date on which the rental amount is payable;
- Deposit payable;
- Which party is responsible for the payment of the utilities;
- Which party is responsible for the maintenance of the property;
- Rules regarding pets;
- Whether subletting of the property is allowed;
- Start and end date of the lease;
- Whether the lease agreement is renewable;
- Exact use of the premises and utilities;
- Others costs to be paid by the tenant, (e.g. security costs)
- Annual rental escalation.
The aforementioned are only some of the necessary aspects to be addressed in a lease agreement. In order to ensure the proper protection of both the landlord and the tenant, it is strongly advised that a lease agreement be reduced to writing.