What Terms Are Usually Included in a Rental Agreement or Lease?

A residential lease should name every party and the unit, state the term, and set the rent, due date, and payment method. It should also state the security deposit and any fees, who pays each utility, who handles which repairs, and the rules on occupants, landlord entry, pets, and subletting. If the home was built before 1978, federal law requires a lead-based paint disclosure attached to the lease, and your state may require its own notices. Late fees, attorney's fee clauses, and automatic renewal are optional, and several states cap or reshape them.

There is no single standard lease form. You and the tenant can set your own terms as long as they follow state and local law. For what a lease is and how it differs from a month-to-month agreement, see what a lease agreement is.

What core terms should every lease state?

Fill in each of these. The California Department of Real Estate tells tenants not to sign a lease with relevant blanks left empty.

A few of these terms have legal limits you cannot contract around:

• Payment method. California requires the lease to state the form of payment and bars a lease that requires cash or electronic payment only. See whether you can require rent in a specific form.
• Deposit. State law may cap it. California's cap has been one month's rent since July 1, 2024, or two months for a small landlord (an individual, or an LLC owned by individuals, renting out no more than two properties with four units total). For a prospective tenant who is a service member, even a qualifying small landlord is limited to one month's rent.
• Occupancy. The Fair Housing Act bars discrimination based on familial status, so base the occupancy limit on your local occupancy code, not on keeping out children.
• Entry. Notice rules vary by state; Texas generally leaves notice requirements to the lease. California presumes 24 hours' written notice is reasonable unless evidence shows otherwise; no notice is required for emergencies or when the tenant is present and consents at entry.
• Pets. The California guide notes that assistance animals and service animals are not pets, so a no-pets clause does not apply to them.
• Subletting. Spell out your consent process. See what to do if a tenant wants to sublet.

Which disclosures must you attach?

Lead-based paint (housing built before 1978). Before the tenant signs, federal rules require you to:

1. Give the tenant the EPA pamphlet "Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home."
2. Disclose any lead-based paint or lead hazards you know about, and hand over any lead reports or records you have.
3. Attach the Lead Warning Statement to the lease (or include it in the lease), with your disclosure, a list of records provided, the tenant's acknowledgment of the pamphlet, and signatures and dates. It must be in the same language as the lease.
4. Keep a signed copy for at least 3 years from the start of the lease.

EPA publishes sample disclosure forms in English and Spanish. The rule does not apply to leases of 100 days or less with no renewal option or housing a certified inspector found free of lead-based paint. Zero-bedroom units and senior or disability housing are exempt only if no child under 6 lives or is expected to live there. EPA enforces the rule and can penalize landlords and property managers who do not make the disclosure.

State and local disclosures. These vary widely. A California lease, for example, needs the Megan's Law database notice, bed bug and flood hazard disclosures, and the owner and manager contact details. See the lists for California lease disclosures and New York lease disclosures, and check your city, since some add their own riders.

Which optional clauses have state limits?

These clauses are common, but the same wording can be enforceable in one state and void in another.

Washington bars late fees on rent paid within 5 days of the due date, and a Washington lease cannot require the tenant to pay your attorney's fees except as state law allows and a court awards.

If you rent in another state, look up its late fee and renewal rules before adding these clauses. A clause that breaks state law is unenforceable, and Washington lets a tenant recover actual damages, up to two months' rent in statutory damages, and attorney's fees when a landlord knowingly uses a prohibited clause.

Which clauses should you leave out?

Leave out any clause that asks the tenant to give up a right the law guarantees, such as the right to a livable unit, the deposit refund rules, or the court eviction process. Those clauses are void even if the tenant signs. Washington also bars clauses that authorize a confession of judgment (the tenant agreeing in advance to a judgment against them) or that limit your liability. For the full list and what you risk by including one, see tenant rights a lease cannot waive.

How do you finish and sign the lease?

1. Read the whole form and fill every blank, or strike blanks that do not apply.
2. Write in every promise you made, such as a repair or a parking space. The California guide advises that the written agreement contain all promises made to the tenant.
3. Attach the lead disclosure (for pre-1978 housing) and every state or local notice before the tenant signs.
4. Have every adult tenant sign, and sign it yourself or through your agent.
5. Give each tenant a signed copy. California requires that within 15 days of signing.
6. Store the signed lease and the lead disclosure. Keep the lead disclosure at least 3 years.

If you and the tenant change a term later, put the change in writing and have both of you sign or initial it next to the change.