Property and premises
Residential tenancy agreement
The paper under which somebody rents a home. It is among the most regulated documents in this catalogue: deposits, notice periods, grounds for possession, repair standards and what a landlord may charge are set by local housing law in most places, and terms conflicting with those rules generally do not stand. The agreement records the parties, the property, the rent and the deposit, who repairs what, and the house rules that apply.
- In the catalogue
- Property and premises
- Where it can live
- Any of the 184 governing laws
Who uses one
- Landlords letting a house, flat or room to a tenant.
- Letting agents preparing agreements on a landlord's behalf.
- Tenants reading what they are signing before they move in.
What you are deciding
- The property, and what is included — furniture, parking, garden
- The term, and whether it rolls on afterwards
- The rent, when it is due, and how it may change
- The deposit, and how it is held and returned
- Who is responsible for repairs and for bills
- House rules: pets, smoking, guests, subletting
- How either side gives notice
- What condition the property is handed back in
Blanks you leave stay blank and wait in the room. Nothing is filled in from a guess.
The sections a draft usually has
- 1The parties and the property
- 2Term
- 3Rent and payment
- 4Deposit
- 5Utilities and bills
- 6Tenant obligations
- 7Landlord obligations and repairs
- 8House rules
- 9Access and inspections
- 10Ending the tenancy
A general outline, not a required one. What turns up in a draft follows what you described. A contract is written in the order a contract is read.
What people call it
The names this kind of paper goes by. They are here because people search for them. They also filter the catalogue. They are not a wordlist the door matches. At the composer you describe the deal in your own words instead.
- residential tenancy agreement
- rental agreement
- lease agreement house
- tenancy contract
- apartment lease
- landlord tenant agreement
Questions people ask
- How are deposits usually handled?
- Many jurisdictions require deposits to be held in a designated scheme or account with specific information given to the tenant. The requirement comes from local law rather than from the agreement.
- Can a landlord end a tenancy whenever they want?
- Generally not. Notice periods and permitted grounds are set by housing law in most places, and a clause allowing something the law does not is usually ineffective.
- Is a tenancy agreement different from a licence?
- Usually yes. A tenancy gives exclusive possession for a term and attracts tenant protections; a licence is permission to occupy. Which one an arrangement really is depends on the facts, not the title.
General answers about the document. Not advice about your situation. Not written about any one country.
Where it lives
A contract names the legal system it is governed by. That is a separate decision from which paper it is. You pick it at the door, from any of the 184 units in Governing law, including England and Wales, Delaware, California and New York.
You do not start from this page. Describe the deal in one sentence at the door. Read the draft back in plain language, in the order a contract is read.
Start it at the door →Related kinds