Lease for Garden Apartment

Hi    We are about to sign a lease with a prospective tenant. Everything looks good. He is single, a professional, has great references  and credit. Does anyone have a copy of a lease that they use ? the only rider we can think of is to have him get renters insurance. Is there any other provisions we should add on to the lease. Thanks in advance

mcll

in Landlord 13 years and 1 month ago

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brooklynbemused | 13 years and 1 month ago

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A friend of mine learned the hard way that it’s wise to include a clause about the number of people that can reside on the premises. She rented to a family of 4 and then grandparents came on vacation, then moved in followed by cousins. She wound up with 10 people in a 2 bedroom apartment.

dancingirl | 13 years and 1 month ago

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No signage, especially in an election year. Unless you don’t mind that kind of thing.. No sublets without your permission..

snowman2 | 13 years and 1 month ago

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I include a recycling/sanitation rider, no pets, no musical instruments.  I enforce the instruments selectively For example, acoustic guitar OK; trumpet, piano(weight on the wide plank) no.

Rick | 13 years and 1 month ago

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I say no to electric coil heaters. Oil filled heaters are safe but I say no to those hot glowing coil type heaters. Every Winter you see it on the news that the cause of fire was the the result of a mishap with one of those heaters. I provide plenty of heat but sometimes tenants want to use them anyway. I think they’re a big risk.

mike-the-expeditor | 13 years and 1 month ago

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I don’t add late fees. I mark up the rent $100 (or whatever you would consider the late fee) and offer a discount (of the same amount) if they pay on time.  Housing Court in Brooklyn is about as pro-tenant as they come (Bronx was/is slightly worse) and will waive late fees from time to time.  It’s harder to argue that a tenant was entitled to a discount when they didn’t pay the rent at all that month.

ejalbk | 13 years and 1 month ago

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I’ll add the suggestion that tenant cannot call an outside contractor/repairman in an emergency without first calling you and giving you 60 minutes or so to respond anytime of day or night. I’ve had too many tenants get locked out, call a locksmith to get in and then send in a bill for $200\. Not surpisingly they always claim the lock was broken not that they lost the key after stumbling home from a bar at 2AM.

NeoGrec | 13 years and 1 month ago

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Renter’s insurance is the important one. Hallway policy too. Will you be offering storage space in the cellar? Have you been clear about any limits on outdoor activities? We also specify that while we will handle the garbage, if the tenants choose to put it out themselves for pick up and don’t follow the city’s schedule, they are liable for any sanitation dept fines. The only thing I would add, which isn’t a lease item but something I also stress to tenants, is that they MUST let us know asap if something breaks. There’s nothing worse than facing a serious plumbing problem, or the like, that would’ve been a small issue had you been told right away that something was wrong.

rh | 13 years and 1 month ago

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First of all, beautiful dog! You can buy a generic lease from most office supply stores and may even be able to download one online. Things I add on my own leases…. No smoking. Maybe extra security for pets or write something in there about pet damage if you allow them. Late fee. If there’s anything specific to the house you want to share, such as shared laundry, don’t block hallway, etc.