Rental Agreements: Understanding Your Rights

A rental agreement is a legal contract between a landlord and a tenant that discusses the terms of their rental relationship. Though at first glance, it may appear that the rental agreement solely benefits the landlord, it also safeguards the renter in many aspects. By understanding the nature of your rental agreement you can determine what steps you should take to ensure that you are fulfilling your end of the contract, how to handle problems in a lawful manner, and what steps to take when it is time to end your rental agreement.

First, you should make sure that you carefully read everything in your rental agreements before you sign it. If you discover something in the agreement that you aren’t in agreement with, don’t ignore it and sign the contract anyway. Discuss your concerns or issues with your landlord. Some of the issues that pose the biggest area for future concern include:

• How rent will be paid
• The length of the rental agreement
• Whether or not you are allowed to sublet the property
• What your responsibilities will be regarding the upkeep of the property
• Which utilities you will be responsible for
• What is your obligation to the landlord should you vacation or be away from the rental property for a certain length of time
• Whether or not you are allowed to have pets, and if so what are the conditions
• What are the rules pertaining to guests
• What is the maximum occupancy of the rental property
• What are the conditions regarding parking
• Are car repairs allowed on the property
• Is the landlord permitted to change the terms of the contract during your occupancy

It may be possible to revise the agreement and come to an amicable solution that satisfies both parties, so if you feel that you don’t agree with something, don’t believe that you have to settle. Speak up and discuss your feelings with your landlord.

It is important to realize that you have rights as a tenant and you should equip yourself with the knowledge needed to ensure that you will utilize those rights when and if needed. A great resource for renters and their rights according to their state laws is HUD or the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. Here is a link to their main state page. HUD Local From this page, you can click on your individual state and find local tenant’s rights, laws, and protection. Simply select your state then browse until you see the link entitled, “Rental Help”. The links will go to outside resources, but don’t be fooled into thinking that HUD is only for low-income residents. They have a plethora of resources applicable to renters everywhere.