Understanding the Standard Residential Lease



Renting a house or apartment is a stressful situation. It can be full of complex terminology and restrictions. Reading the rental lease agreement is essential to ensuring the best fit for the apartment and individual. While each rental experience is slightly different, there are some standards that the rental process tends to follow. The standard residential lease provides the landlord a basis in which to build his lease and the renter an idea of what to expect. The standard lease is not necessarily the lease for that specific apartment or house, but it can set the basis for what is fair and normal in the rental process.



Pets are generally not allowed on the standard residential lease. While the dog and cat may be members of the family, landlords generally do not allow for them. The reasoning behind this is the potential damage to the home or apartment. Dogs and cats may contribute to the damage to carpets and flooring. While it is not the normal behavior of a cat or dog to eliminate on the floor, there is the potential for this occurring. Even if the dog or cat's track record is perfect for housebreaking behaviors it is considered discrimination for the landlord to allow one family to have a pet but deny another.

Subleasing is typically also noted on the standard residential lease. This is the condition in which the renter leaves and allows another individual to "take over" the apartment. This, while lovely in thought is poor in practice. When subleasing a property, the individual in the property is not held legally responsible for the damages because he does not live there. The name on the lease is the individual responsible for the damages. While it would be nice for the subletter to volunteer to pay for the damages, these cases often have to go through civil courts and cost more than the amount of damage may have been.

Most apartments are considered non-smoking facilities. The non-smoking world had not missed the apartment sphere. The majority of the landlords add this clause to the standard residential lease in order to protect their properties. Most fires that cause significant damage to the home are cigarette related fires. The cigarette smoke also causes damage to the paint in the home and may cause a foul odor to overcome the apartment. This odor is not easy to remove and may cause potential new leasers to avoid the apartment.