Rental and Lease Agreements

The rental agreement (or lease) governs the entire rental relationship. This includes the amount of rent and how to pay it, how many people can live in the apartment, what each party’s duties are, and what to do if either party fails to perform. Given how important the lease is to both parties, landlords and tenants must educate themselves on leases. In this section, you will learn about how leases work, what to look for when reviewing a lease or rental agreement, how to add a roommate to a lease (if allowed by lease), terminating a lease, and more. For a handy guide on the basics of renting, you can download FindLaw's Guide to Renting [pdf].