Reading Your Rental Contract Is Important
Read Your Contract Carefully
Many renters barely even skim their rental agreement before signing their name at the bottom. Most renters are primarily involved with the monthly charges, one time only fees, required deposits and other financial matters. Once they verify this information is accurate as reported by their conversations with the leasing agent, they often sign the agreement with no questions asked. This is a slip because a rental agreement is a legal contract which may have a host of important information which the renter should be conscious of before signing the document.
Thinking about a Roommate?
Those who are considering the possibility of a roommate may mistakenly believe this is workable since they’re living alone and have two bedrooms and two bedrooms. These uninformed renters may see a chance to share their rent with another. Nonetheless, some rental agreements strictly prohibit renters from soliciting their own roommates and allowing a surplus individual to move into the apartment after the lease is already signed. Renters who violate this agreement may face harsh penalties. These penalties may even include eviction.
Renters who wish to have the option of a roommate should ideally make this decision before the contract is signed. This will enable the householder to put provisions into the contract to allow for the renter to include a surplus resident any time. The leasing agent may still require final approval of your roommate but this approval process will be reliant on the results of a background check along with a check of the possibility roommate’s finances.
Want to Adopt a Pet?
Renters who wish to take in a pet in the short term should also familiarize themselves with the rental agreement. This is important because restrictions on the types, size and specific breed of pets apply not only if the renter moves in but all through the terms of his rental agreement. This means a renter who has signed contractual documents stating they don’t own any of the prohibited pets such as cats and dogs are not free to buy or adopt additional pets during the course of the rental agreement. Therefore, renters who don’t have pets but plan to acquire or purchase pets in the near future should read the contract documents as if they’re already a pet owner and decide if to sign based on the statements within the policy.
Do You Smoke?
Smoking isn’t looked upon favorably by landlords on their property. E cigarettes do not stain walls or leave furniture smelling like traditional cigarettes do.
Plan on Having Visitors Regularly?
Even renters who have regular overnight guests should familiarize themselves with their rental agreement before signing the document. This is important because frequent guests may in reality be considered residents in some instances. This will likely rely upon the specific rental agreement but it’s not entirely uncommon for leasing agents to specify that visitors who spend a particular number of nights on the property every month are looked upon as residents of the apartment. This is important as the rental agreement may clearly identify how many people may reside in the apartment at any one time.
Visitors who are staying at the apartment too often may put the resident in danger of being accused of having additional persons living in the apartment. In a few instances this can be considered cause for eviction. For this purpose, the renter should be sure he is aware of the terms of the agreement before allowing others to spend the night in the apartment on a regular basis.
