Rental Agreement Template
Renters make up about 36% of the total housing market in the US alone, making rent contracts one of the most common transactional documents. That’s why we’ve worked with lawyers to develop a basic rental agreement (Word document) for you to use with confidence in your property dealings.
Free Basic Rental Agreements Template
Renters make up about 36% of the total housing market in the US alone, making rent contracts one of the most common transactional documents. That’s why we’ve worked with lawyers to develop a basic rental agreement (Word document) for you to use with confidence in your property dealings.
What’s in this template?
- • Length of the rental period
- • Rent payment
- • Termination details
Click below to access our basic lease agreement template
What is a basic tenancy agreement, and why is it important?
Renting or leasing is where a landlord makes a property (or part of a property) available to a tenant for a defined period in exchange for a fee.
Leases can be used for either commercial or residential properties.
Landlords may organize a lease directly with tenants or engage with a property agent to rent a property on their behalf.
A rent agreement is a legally binding contract between landlord and tenant laying out the terms and conditions of the tenancy.
Many standard rental agreements used by realtors are intimidating and unnecessarily complicated for tenants to understand.
A basic rental agreement simplifies the legal jargon making the information easier to digest for all parties involved.
The beauty of a basic lease agreement is that there’s no excuse for tenants or landlords to misconstrue the content of the contract. Furthermore, a simple agreement makes leasing your property more approachable to prospective tenants, increasing your chances of securing a lease with high-quality candidates.
DISCLAIMER: We are not lawyers or a law firm and we do not provide legal, business or tax advice. We recommend you consult a lawyer or other appropriate professional before using any templates or agreements from this website.
Download our Basic Rental
Agreement PDF Form
Now that you understand the benefits of using a basic tenancy agreement, our template makes the process of leasing accessible and approachable.
Click below to get our free template
How to get the most out your basic tenancy agreement templates
There are five phases when it comes to optimizing your basic rental agreement template, including promotion, inquiry, inspection, application, and contract. Let’s look at each stage in more detail.
1. Promotion
Before you even have the opportunity to whip out your rental contract to tenants, you need to generate interest in your property listing. This means writing an engaging headline, description, and uploading quality images that showcase your space.
Ironically, your rental agreement plays a significant role when writing up your property copy as you need to communicate some of your contract terms upfront—like monthly rent price, security deposit, pet considerations, and inclusivity of utilities.
Once you’re happy with your rental listing materials, it’s time to upload to various websites and marketplaces to get exposure to your property.
2. Inquiry
The singular goal of your promotional efforts is to create inquiries to your lease. The more inbound emails, messages, and phone calls you receive from prospective tenants, the more choice you have to screen for the most well-referenced tenants. You also have a higher chance of securing a deal quickly reducing your time on the market, saving you money!
When you receive inquiries about your listing tenants may have questions about specifics about your property before inspecting. This is where it’s handy to have your basic lease agreement template drawn up as a reference so you can confidently answer questions about the conditions of your tenancy.
3. Inspection
It’s always a good idea to get prospective renters to inspect your property before signing your agreement. This ensures that the tenant has a realistic idea of what the property looks like and how it comes before making a long-term commitment.
Sometimes tenants are unavailable to inspect a property due to busy schedules, or they’re in a different city. If a tenant is unavailable to check, see if they can organize for someone to look at the property on their behalf. Another option is to do a virtual tour through a video call with the tenant.
Worst case scenario, you can let the tenant proceed to the next phase of the process without inspecting the property. However, it would help if you made it super clear that they are doing so at their own risk.
4. Application
After the tenant is satisfied with the property inspection, the next step is to send the form to them to complete a rental application either online or printed.
On the lease application, prospective tenants describe their rental history, references, income status, and identification. This is all part of the screening process to make sure that potential tenants are fit to pay the lease and will care for your property respectfully.
5. Rental or Lease agreement
The fifth phase is all about presenting and signing your basic rental agreement. If you’re happy with the tenants’ application, send them your rental contract which includes the essential terms and conditions of your lease.
At this stage, you would’ve referenced the details of your agreement in the previous four phases, so there shouldn’t be any big surprises for the tenant.
Presenting your contract is also an opportunity for tenants to negotiate terms to ensure both parties have exercised considering before signing on the dotted line.
Download our Basic Rental
Agreement and Contract
Now that you understand the benefits of using a basic tenancy agreement, our template makes the process of leasing accessible and approachable.
Click below to get our free template
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ about our Basic Rental Agreement
Technically no law requires a minimum length of tenancy. So your lease can be as short as you want. However, keep in mind that your lease length may influence your ability to attract tenants based on their requirements.
A lease agreement must include the names of both the landlord/agent and the tenant.
Having a signed rental agreement is one of the most crucial steps to a successful outcome for tenants and landlords when leasing a property.
While an email or phone call can form the basis of an agreement, a signed contract is legally binding, thus holding all parties accountable to what they agreed upon.
Also, having a basic rental agreement template ensures parties don’t miss any relevant terms and conditions before signing.
Not having a rental agreement opens up the risk of tenants and landlords acting negligent, triggering disputes, and potential loss of income and assets.
While an email or phone call can form the basis of an agreement, a signed contract is legally binding, thus holding all parties accountable to what they agreed upon.
Also, having a basic rental agreement template ensures parties don’t miss any relevant terms and conditions before signing.
Not having a rental agreement opens up the risk of tenants and landlords acting negligent, triggering disputes, and potential loss of income and assets.
Yes, you certainly can! We recognize that our template may need to be modified to add inclusions or clauses for tenants. That’s why we’ve made our form available in Word so you can edit the document to your needs.
document preview
Rental Agreement
Rental Agreement
Parties
– This Rental Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the “Agreement”) is entered into on ______________ (the “Effective Date”), by and between __________________________, with an address of ______________ (hereinafter referred to as the “Renter”) and ______________ with an address of ______________ (hereinafter referred to as the “Landlord”) (collectively referred to as the “Parties”).
Consideration
– The Renter hereby agrees to pay the Landlord the amount of money mentioned in this Agreement to lease the property owned by the Landlord.
Term
– (Option 1) This Agreement shall be effective on the date of signing this Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the “Effective Date”) and will end on ______________.
– (Option 2) Upon the end of the term of the Agreement, this Agreement will not be automatically renewed for a new term.
Premises, Use And Occupancy
– The premises that are to be rented by the Landlord are located at (address) ______________.
– The premises are to be used only for residential purposes and may be occupied only by the registered occupants.
Costs And Payment
– The monthly rent to be paid by the Renter to the Landlord is ______________. It is to be paid by the Renter before the first day of every month, such that the first rent payment is due on ______________.
– The method of payment preferred by both parties is ______________.
– In the event of late payments made by the Renter, the Landlord is entitled to impose ______________ fine as late fee.
– Prior to taking occupancy of the premises, the Renter will pay the Landlord an amount of ______________ as a security deposit to cover the cost of any damages suffered by the premises and cleaning. Such security deposit will be returned to the Renter upon the end of this Agreement, provided the premises are left in the same condition as prior to the occupancy.
Termination
– This Agreement may be terminated in case the following occurs:
- Immediately in case one of the Parties breaches this Agreement.
- At any given time by providing a written notice to the other party ______________ days prior to terminating Agreement.
Abandonment And The Right To Enter
– In the event that the Renter abandons the premises during the term of this Agreement, the Landlord will be entitled to enter the Premises by any means without facing any liability and the Landlord may terminate this Agreement.
– The Landlord is entitled to enter the premises to inspect or repair the premises.
Dispute Resolution
– Any dispute or difference whatsoever arising out of or in connection with this Agreement shall be submitted to arbitration/mediation/negotiation (circle one) in accordance with, and subject to the laws of ______________.
Governing Law
– This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of ______________
Pets
– The Parties agree that the Renter will not keep any pets on the premises without obtaining written prior consent from the Landlord.
Severability
– In the event that any provision of this Agreement is found to be void and unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, then the remaining provisions will remain in force in accordance with the Parties’ intention.
Entire Agreement
– This Agreement contains the entire agreement and understanding among the Parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof, and supersedes all prior agreements, understandings, inducements and conditions, express or implied, oral or written, of any nature whatsoever with respect to the subject matter hereof. The express terms hereof control and supersede any course of performance and/or usage of the trade inconsistent with any of the terms hereof.
Amendments
– The Parties agree that any amendments made to this Agreement must be in writing, where they must be signed by both Parties to this Agreement.
– As such, any amendments made by the Parties will be applied to this Agreement.
Signature And Date
– The Parties hereby agree to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement and such is demonstrated by their signatures below:
Renter
Name: ______________________
Signature: ___________________
Date: _______________________
Landlord
Name: ______________________
Signature: ___________________
Date: _______________________
Related Proposals and Templates
Download our Basic Rental
Agreement PDF
Now that you understand the benefits of using a basic tenancy agreement, our template makes the process of leasing accessible and approachable.
Click below to get our free template
