Residential lease agreement checklist: what your lease should include

The short version

A free template is fine if you check it before anyone signs. Make sure the lease names every adult, states the term, rent, deposit and fees clearly, splits utilities and repairs, covers entry, pets and smoking, includes the disclosures your property needs, and ties to a signed move-in condition report. Then check it once against your state’s landlord-tenant law.

Parties, property, and term

• Landlord or management company name and an address for notices.
• Every adult tenant by full legal name, plus minor occupants by name.
• Property address, unit number, and anything included (parking space, storage, appliances).
• Start and end date, or that it is month to month.
• What happens at the end: renewal, conversion to month to month, or move-out, and the notice either side must give.

Rent, fees, and the security deposit

• Monthly rent, due date, and accepted payment methods.
• Grace period and late fee, if any. Many states cap or regulate late fees, so check yours.
• Returned-payment fee, if any, within state limits.
• Security deposit amount, where it is held if your state requires that, the deadline to return it, and that deductions will be itemized.
• Any other one-time or recurring charges (pet rent, parking), each written out.

Utilities, repairs, and the property

• A clear list of which utilities and services the tenant pays and which you pay.
• How to request repairs (in writing, with a portal, email, or form) and what counts as an emergency.
• Tenant responsibilities: keeping the unit clean, reporting leaks and damage promptly, replacing batteries or filters if you assign that.
• Your responsibilities, which cannot go below what your state’s habitability rules require.
• Alterations, painting, and lock changes: allowed only with written permission.

Rules for living there

• Pets: allowed or not, limits, pet deposit or rent, and a note that assistance animals are handled as accommodation requests, not as pets.
• Smoking and vaping.
• Guests and how long a guest can stay before they must apply.
• Subletting and assignment: allowed only with written consent.
• Landlord entry: the notice you will give and for what reasons, matching your state’s rule.
• Noise, trash, parking, and any HOA or building rules attached as an addendum.

Disclosures and addenda

Attach what your property and state require. The one that applies nationwide:

• Lead-based paint (homes built before 1978): the Lead Warning Statement, known lead hazards and reports, the EPA pamphlet, and signatures, kept for at least three years.
• State and city disclosures, which vary: for example owner or agent contact info, mold, flood zone, bed bugs, or shared utility billing.
• A move-in condition report signed by both sides, with dated photos.
• Pet, parking, or HOA addenda if they apply.

Ending the lease

• Notice needed to end a month-to-month tenancy or to not renew.
• Early termination: whether you allow a buyout or re-rent arrangement. Remember the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act lets qualifying servicemembers end a lease early with proper notice (50 U.S.C. 3955).
• Move-out steps: cleaning standard, key return, forwarding address for the deposit.
• Abandoned property and what happens to it, following your state’s procedure.

Final checks before anyone signs

• No clause conflicts with state or local law, such as a waiver of the tenant’s right to a habitable unit or an illegal fee.
• Nothing in the lease, or in how you apply it, treats people differently based on a protected class under the Fair Housing Act or your state law.
• Every blank is filled in and every page initialed if that is your practice.
• Everyone has signed and dated, and every tenant gets a full copy.
• Your 12-month and month-to-month versions match except for the term and the notice clause.

Official places to check the rules

• 40 CFR 745.113: lead-based paint disclosure and acknowledgment — Lead Warning Statement for leases of pre-1978 housing (Cornell LII)
• EPA: Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule (Section 1018 of Title X)
• 50 U.S.C. 3955: servicemember lease termination — Cornell LII
• 42 U.S.C. 3604: discrimination in housing — Cornell LII
• USA.gov: tenant rights and landlord-tenant help by state
• USA.gov: find your state attorney general — many publish landlord-tenant guides

Keep the lease and the process together

A lease works best as part of a routine: the same screening, the same lease, the same move-in report, and a renewal check well before the term ends.

• Lease renewal checklist
• Rental application form for landlords
• Move-in / move-out inspection checklist
• Lead-based paint disclosure for landlords