Lease Agreement (what to include if you're writing it yourself)

[yennisse]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Virginia

I'm thinking about renting out my current home and I'm putting together the lease agreement myself. I have 2 questions:

1. I want to add an "early termination" clause and I was thinking about making the fee equal to 3 times the montly rent (that would give me enough time to clean, paint or deal with whatever else comes up). Is that an unreasonable amount? If so, what do yo uthink would be appropriate?

2. If I allow pets and someones dog bites someone else, and I specifically put in the lease agreement that I am in no way liable for the actions of the tenants pet - can I still be sued if the tenants dog bites someone?

thanks for the advise.

 

[Gail in Georgia]

1. Before you go writing your own lease, study the landlord tenant laws of your state.

2. Of course you can be sued. What makes you think putting a clause in that you can't be sued if your tenants dog bites someone negates the fact they can sue the socks off of you? Your contract (i.e., the lease) would be with the tenant, not the person who got bitten.

Gail

 

[treese]

Ditto Gail's Post.

1. Three months of rent may be excessive. Generally, the amount of a lease termination fee is between 1-2 months of rent.

2. Regardless of what you put in your lease, you can be sued if your tenant's dog bites someone.

 

[TigerD]

Pay a couple of hundred bucks and have a lawyer review (read as - throw away what you wrote and write you a lease). It will save you a lot of money down the road.

DC

 

[Baranov]

Join a landlord tenant organization. Use the lease provided by their attorney.

Never give your tenants any more rights than your state Landlord tenant laws allow. Your lease should be slanted to your favor not the tenant. Pay attention to fonts and limit the use of legal terminology and fancy wording. Remember the K.I.S.S. rule.
(Keep it simple stupid) rule. And always put an addendum to the lease stating that if any part of the lease is held to be illegal, then that part and only that part is nullified. The rest of the lease still remains in effect.

 

[Ellerge]

Put the following in to your Lease:
No animals or pets will be brought onto or kept on the premises at any time and for any length of time without the prior written consent of Landlord.
You can still be sued but this MAY give you a chance in Court (with a good Lawyer and a good [to you] jury).