Mobile Home Rentals: Looking At Your Agreement

If you're looking into mobile home rentals, you need to be careful about what is and isn't in your agreement with the landlord. First of all, make sure such an agreement exists and is in writing. A handshake might be okay in some forms of business, but home leasing isn't one of them. Any number of issues can come up between a landlord and their tenant. If you want to be on firm footing with a disagreement, you need to make sure you have something you can go back to when you want to argue a point. Here are some things every agreement should have.

Payment Terms

Even if nothing else is in your agreement, the terms of the payment need to be there, written clearly. Of course, this is only one of many concerns you should have when looking into mobile home rentals, but it is certainly one of the most important. The lease should state how much payment is expected each month, the date on which it is due, the penalty for being late, and any other fees that might be applicable throughout the terms of the lease. This includes any and all information about a security deposit, the final month's rent, a pet deposit, and so forth.

Repairs

Make sure the lease mentions repairs to the property and how they will be handled. In some mobile home rentals, the individual renting the house will be responsible for repairs. In most states, however, the law actually insists that the landlord be responsible for these repairs, both financially and physically. Make sure the contract not only reflects terms you can live with, but is also in accordance with state law and your rights as an occupant. Often, a landlord (and this is especially true for individual owners who are temporarily leasing out their home to make some money) will be ignorant of their responsibilities under the law. Make sure, therefore, that you know the law going in.

The Park

In many cases, mobile home rentals involve not only the house, but the park in which the trailer is located. What this means is that any occupant needs to be aware of the rules of the surrounding park before signing any lease. The owner of the home may not have a problem with dogs, but if they aren't allowed in the park, you could find yourself in a bad situation. Make sure nothing in the lease conflicts with the park rules in general.