Creating a Lease

Answer:

As an accomplished Delaware County Landlord Attorney, I get questions all the time from clients about what a landlord should consider when creating a lease. Landlords, when preparing to create a lease, need to consider certain factors and make sure they include them in the lease.

These factors are going to vary depending on whether you’re a residential landlord or a commercial landlord. Let’s stick with residential for the time-being. A residential landlord wants to make sure they identifies who the tenants are. If there are multiple tenants, you want to make sure they are all on the lease. That means they will all be obligated in the event there is damage to your property or failure to pay rent; it provides you with multiple avenues of recovery.

You also want to make sure you identify the term of the lease:
• How long will the lease be? Is it month-to-month?
• Is it a one-year lease?
• What happens at the end of that one year?
• Will it automatically renew, or will it automatically terminate?

You also want to make sure that you cover any additional terms that are specific to your property:
• Do you want to allow pets?
• Will there be on-site or off-site parking?
• Who is responsible for certain types of maintenance or upkeep?

Without including these contingencies in the lease, you are creating the opportunity for a misunderstanding or dispute as to who is responsible for what.

This educational blog was brought to you by experienced Landlord Lawyer Paul Fellman. Our law firm proudly represents clients throughout Delaware County, as well as Pennsylvania, the greater Philadelphia area, and New Jersey.

If you have any questions about what a landlord should consider when creating a lease, please contact our Delaware County Landlord Attorney for a free case evaluation. Let our skills work for you.