As an owner or manager of a rental property, it’s obvious to you who owns what in each of your rental units. But is it just as crystal clear to your tenants? Sometimes yes, sometimes no, but to be sure, it’s best to spell it all out in your lease agreement.
A strong lease agreement can help prevent future disputes and ensure that landlords, property owners and their tenants are all protected.
Commonly Forgotten Lease Terms to Include in Your Agreement
One important component that often gets left off lease agreements is related to property ownership. The appliances you provide in your rental unit(s) belong to you, the owner, and are supposed to remain with the house (if that is the policy you choose to enforce). You may assume all your tenants understand this, but what happens when one of them starts walking out with the dishwasher on move-out day?
Without explicitly including appliances in your lease agreement and denoting who owns what, you have no effective way of enforcing your policy. Whereas if you have a signed agreement, you can show the tenant clear documentation specifying who owns what and that, yep, the dishwasher has got to stay.
Many default lease templates don’t include a place for you to address appliances, but we encourage property owners and landlords to include appliances like refrigerators, dishwashers, and ranges in theirs. These are items you don’t want walking out on you with every tenant turnover.
On the flip side, if you decide to offer rental units without appliances, it’s important to specify that as well. The lease should note that the appliances belong to the tenant, and you want them to take the refrigerator or whatever appliances they own with them when they move out. Otherwise, you could be left saddled with non-functional appliances at your property that you now have to get rid of.
For other important lease terms to include in your agreements, be sure to also read this blog post.
At the end of the day, you can never really be too specific when it comes to your lease. If you have questions about property management in Columbus or what to include in your lease agreements, give us a call at RL Property Management anytime.
