Difference between Leases and Rental Agreements

• While a lease agreement endures for a specified time, a rental agreement is a periodic or month-to-month contract for a short-term. Most rental agreements are for 30 days. A landlord can change the terms of a rental agreement by giving proper notice to the tenant and a tenant may terminate a month-to-month rental agreement by giving 30 days written notice.
  
  

Common Lease Terms

• A lease agreement typically incorporates the following terms: Names of the tenants and the landlord; address of the rental unit; term of tenancy; rent amount; amount of the security deposit; whether the tenant may have pets; tenant's designated parking space; which party pays for utilities; number of occupants allowed to live in the rental unit; and reasons the landlord may enter the unit.
  
  

Prohibited Provisions

• Every state has different laws regarding lease provisions prohibited by law, but in general, a lease may not exclude tenants based on race, color, national origin, or sex; prohibit children, unless the facility is for senior housing; waive a tenant's right to sue the landlord; waive a tenant's right to receive her security deposit refund; or waive the landlord's duty to provide habitable premises.
  
  

Expiration of Lease

• Upon the expiration of a lease agreement, the landlord and tenant may take any of the following actions: create a new lease agreement; the landlord may choose not to renew the lease; or the tenant can remain in the unit as a month-to-month tenant. If the tenant vacates the rental property before the expiration of the lease, the tenant is legally responsible for the paying the landlord the entire lease amount. The landlord, however, must mitigate the damages by renting the unit to another tenant.
  
  

Terminating a Lease

• In most states, a landlord may terminate a lease when a tenant fails to pay rent, violates a provision in the lease agreement, or violates a legally imposed duty, such as causing serious damage to the rental property. To evict a tenant, the landlord must send the tenant a notice to pay rent or quit the premises, cure or quit, or an unconditional quit, which means that the tenant is not entitled to cure the violation.