Rent-to-Own Lease Agreement

A rent-to-own agreement creates a fixed-term tenancy. This is simply a tenancy agreement that states that it will end upon a specific date in the future, usually about six months or a year from the start of the tenancy. A periodic tenancy, on the other hand, has no set end date and usually continues from month to month until one of the parties chooses to terminate the tenancy. 

Signing incentives are great ways to motivate potential tenants to agree to longer-term leases or higher rental payments. You may add the details of any signing incentive you have agreed upon. Signing incentives include rent concessions or other extra benefits that are not standardly included for your tenants. Even if an incentive is normally provided to all tenants, it may still be a good idea to include it here so that the tenants are clear on the details.

A security deposit is an amount of money that is given to a landlord as proof of the tenant's desire to move in and care for the leased property. A security deposit can be refundable or nonrefundable, depending on the terms of the agreement. It is recommended that the landlord always require tenants to pay an upfront security deposit. This will help ensure that the tenant pays for any damage discovered by the landlord at the end of the tenancy and helps avoid costly litigation that would be required to enforce the agreement in court.

Often, local law requires additional disclosure requirements that need to be disclosed before or at the signing of the rental or lease agreement. For instance, landlords are often required to disclose serious problems that affect the rental unit's habitability; any housing code violations; mold or flood zone warnings; radon warnings; bed bug disclosures; carbon monoxide, asbestos, and other warnings; the presence of a methamphetamine laboratory or a flood at the unit prior to the tenant's occupancy; whether the property is located in a military zone; and local rent control rules. When in doubt, it is always best to disclose these and similar issues.