Property Management Agreement (image: c-rem.com)
Are you using a generic, off-the-shelf lease agreement for your Silicon Valley rentals? How do you know this rental lease agreement is valid in California? Well, you sure don’t want to find about about the validity of your rental lease agreement in a California court cause it might be too late by then.
However, here are top 7 items you must include in your rental agreement if it’s going to have any chance of surviving a legal challenge:
1) Signed by ALL: All parties who are principals in the rental lease agreement must sign it. Without a signed agreement by both parties, your lease lease agreement is not valid in California or other states for that matter.
2) Terms of the Lease: A valid rental lease agreement has to include start and end dates of the occupancy. It’s often smarter to use a month-month rental lease agreements to avoid any possible delays in evictions if your tenants refuse to pay.
3) Payment Terms: The lease agreement should deine the payment requirements including the security deposit. The agreement must cover penalties for late payments along with the ramification of missed payments which could include eviction.
4) Leased Space: The rental lease agreement should clearly identify the property address being rented and any excluded areas such as garage and storage shed. For example if you are leasing a detached Studio on a large home, the contract should have your home’s address, but should clearly identify that the lease only applies to the Studio and not the main house.
5) Utilities: The terms of your rental lease agreement must identify if any of the utilities are covered by the landlord. Be aware that some utility companies such as trash collection will place a lien against your property if the tenant is not making timely payments.
6) Terms of Use: The term of use must clearly be defined in your rental lease agreement. This clause will also prohibit any attempts to sub-lease your property.
7) Renewal Terms: You lease should include the renewal terms under which the contract would be extended for another term. You can also include a rent acceleration as part of the renewal terms.
As you can see developing a valid rental lease agreement can be challenging. That’s why we are convinced that hiring a property manager for your California home is a good investment to avoid any future headaches.
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