A rental lease agreement is an important document that includes all the necessary information and legal elements required to protect landlords and tenants. But before signing a lease agreement, it’s important to be informed on the lease signing process, such as who signs first and what to consider before signing.
Keep reading to learn more about the lease signing process and tools that can help you streamline the process.
Key Takeaways
As a tenant, thoroughly review the lease agreement to ensure all the information on the agreement aligns with what’s been communicated during the lease agreement.
All parties involved, the landlord and tenant(s), must both sign the lease agreement to be valid.
Tenants generally provide the first signature on the lease agreement. Landlords sign last to make the agreement final.
What Factors Should Be Considered Before Signing a Lease?
Before signing a lease agreement, it’s advised to review the following parts of a lease to ensure you’re aligned with the stated information.
Lease agreement type: Check that the lease agreement states the right type of term duration you agreed on. If both the landlord and tenant agreed on a 12 month lease, then the lease agreement should explicitly state this lease term. As a reminder, landlords can offer four types of lease agreements — a month-to-month lease, short-term lease, 12-month lease, or rent-to-own lease.
The stated rent price: Avoid signing for a lease agreement that states the incorrect rent price. If the rent price doesn’t match what’s been communicated, then the landlord will need to adjust the lease.
The landlord’s rules: Review the rules and conditions the landlord will enforce during the lease term. Tenants may also want to review local landlord-tenant laws to ensure the agreement does not violate their renters’ rights.
If the information matches what’s been communicated: Landlords should include rent concessions they’re offering, amenities available to tenants, fees tenants are responsible for paying and when they’re due, and any other information shared with the tenant.
If the lease agreement does not match the information discussed during the application process, tenants are advised to let the landlord know before signing. This is especially important because lease agreements cannot be changed once everyone in the agreement has signed.
Once a tenant’s application has been approved, the next step is signing the lease to finalize the agreement. Landlords can schedule an in-person meeting to collect signatures or explore electronic lease signing to expedite the process.
Here are the basic steps in the lease signing process that landlords and tenants can follow.
1. Landlord Sends Lease to Tenant to Review and Sign
Landlords can digitally sign Avail lease agreements or their own ready-to-sign document for free. Before collecting the tenant’s signature, landlords will need to invite them to create an account with Avail. They will be emailed with instructions on how to review and sign the lease. They can use this time to raise any concerns they have when reviewing the lease agreement.
If the tenant discovers an error in the lease agreement, landlords can easily edit Avail leases to resend. However, if the document was uploaded to Avail, you may need to upload the revised document to sign online.
It’s best practice to have the tenant sign the lease agreement first for a few reasons. If you provide a lease with your signature and the tenant does not sign the document right away, then it makes it harder to move on to another tenant. If the new tenant you chose signs the lease, as well as the original tenant you wanted to lease to, you can end up with two valid leases, which will require legal assistance to navigate.
For that reason, landlords typically require tenants and co-signers or lease guarantors (when applicable) to sign the lease first. This also allows you to review the lease to see if any portions have been changed without your knowledge or cancel the lease if you no longer want to rent to the tenant.
3. Landlord Provides Final Signature
Once you’ve collected signatures from tenants, landlords can provide theirs to make the agreement legally binding. It’s important to review the lease agreement before signing to ensure all the information is correct and complies with local ordinances.
The final lease agreement will automatically populate to both parties’ dashboards to reference throughout the lease term.
Lease agreements cannot be changed once both parties have signed.
Is a Lease Valid If Not Signed by All Tenants?
In most states, all parties included in the lease agreement need to sign for a lease to be valid. However, each state varies on rules and regulations regarding online signatures on lease agreements, so refer to local landlord-tenant laws to check.
Digitally Sign Lease Agreements for Free
There are different ways to handle the lease signing process, but opting for online lease signing can help expedite the process for landlords and tenants. Platforms like Avail allow you to easily sign our lawyer-reviewed, state-specific lease agreements or upload your ready-to-sign documents to sign in Avail using tools powered by HelloSign — for free.
Create an account or log in to streamline the lease signing process for your rentals in minutes.
A lease is a contract under the law. Where one party does not sign a contract, it can still be enforced as if it was if the parties to the contract act as though the contract had been signed. For example, if a tenant moves in and pays a deposit, the lease would likely be enforceable.
Names and contact information for the landlord and/or property management company. Address of the property being leased, including restricted areas if applicable. Restrictions on subletting and long-term guests. Amount of rent, including security deposit, fees, and payment terms.
The approval notice means your application was accepted and you can move forward with renting the apartment. These notices always include important details. Like the address of the rental unit, the monthly rent amount, renter insurance, and the dates when your lease term begins and ends.
You do not own the car you are leasing. Most lease drivers often return the car, but you have several end-of-lease options. You can buy out the lease before the contract ends or purchase the vehicle at the end of leasing.Then, you can sell the car once you own it.
My name is and I am very interested in renting the apartment you have available at . I currently live at and have lived there for years. I am looking for a new place to live because . I really like your apartment because .
California's Statute of Frauds requires a lease to be in writing if it either: 1. has a term longer than one year; or 2. has a term less than one year which expires more than one year after the agreement is reached.
A landlord can require a tenant to pay a security deposit before the lease signing. A security deposit acts as a safety net against a tenant's negligent action. For example, failing to pay rent, causing repairs to be made, or causing damage to the premises exceeding normal wear and tear.
Here are some things a lawyer may look for when reviewing a lease agreement: Provisions which hamper a tenant from exercising their legal rights. If a lease provides that a tenant cannot defend an eviction, or allows the landlord to evict without notice, the provisions are likely illegal.
Amount of rent and due dates, grace period, late charges. Mode of rent payment. Methods to terminate the agreement prior to the expiration date and charges if any. Amount of security deposit and the account where it is held.
Lease Expense Definition: What does it Mean? In business, the lease expense refers to the cost that a company is required to pay in exchange for the use of an asset over a specified period. This rented asset could be anything from property, equipment to vehicles depending on the specific needs of the business.
Final Lease Payment means, with respect to any Lease, any payment set forth in such Lease other than the regular Scheduled Payment which is required to be paid by the related Lessee at the maturity of such Lease.
The freeholder (another word for the landlord) will own the property and the land it sits on. Additionally, the freeholder will receive ground rent from the leaseholder (which would be you) every month. So, even thought you will have a house repayments for the property, you will still have to pay rent.
Once all the conditions have been met, your mortgage lender will issue you a final approval. This means that the loan has been approved and you can now close on the property.
A contract is fully executed at the point at which it has been signed by each of the Parties to form a Legally Binding contractual relationship. All Parties have agreed to fulfil their contractual obligations and have also agreed to all terms and conditions.
Introduction: My name is Annamae Dooley, I am a witty, quaint, lovely, clever, rich, sparkling, powerful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
