Residential Property Management: What Should Be In Every Lease

There have been reams of text written on the subject of residential property management, and there will surely be reams more in time. People without the experience probably see managing an apartment complex as a cushy job. Just rent out the spaces and watch the money start rolling in. Of course, anyone who has done it for even a day knows that this is far from the case. Even the smallest complexes can benefit from more than one person on the staff, as the chores and decisions can quickly become overwhelming. But the first step of all is the production of a lease contract. Here are some things that should always be in one if you want to avoid problems.

A Drug Clause
One of the quickest ways for tenants to drive an entire complex into the ground is to introduce drugs into the area. Now, a tenant who enjoys a small amount of personal marijuana from time to time certainly isn’t the same as one who is making crack deals outside his apartment door, but it’s difficult to make these distinctions in terms of lease language. The primary goal here is to reduce or eliminate illegal activity on the premises. Make sure your contract has a clause which states that the tenant is certifying their drug free status and will not be selling or taking any illicit drugs while on the property.

A Pet Clause
As residential property management, you will need to decide whether or not you will allow pets in your complex. If so, you’ll need to place restrictions on what kinds. For instance, you probably won’t want one of your tenants keeping venomous cobras on the property. You’ll need to think about this clause carefully. A lot of people keep dogs and cats, so eliminating them entirely may cut down considerably on the amount of potential customers you have. On the other hand, pets are often the cause of extraordinary wear and tear on a piece of property. If you are to allow pets, make sure the restrictions are clearly outlined and you may want to require additional deposits for every pet.

The Security Deposit
Most residential property management teams will want to put a security deposit into the terms for moving in. A security deposit is an amount of money (often in the amount of half a month’s rent, but this is up to your discretion) the tenant puts down when they move in. This money is due back to them at the end of the contract, provided they have met certain requirements as outlined in the lease. Make sure these requirements are spelled out precisely, so there are no disputes when the time comes to decide whether the deposit will be given back or not.