Being clear about the elements that are included in a lease will allow tenants to know what they are committing to and what benefits they will have when using the property.
Renting a house or an apartment involves a process in which various steps must be followed for the agreement between the interested parties to be a success, so various points must be taken into account.
Some of these are recommended by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the agency in charge of consumer protection in the United States, whose purpose is to protect citizens from deceptive and fraudulent practices, as well as to promote economic competition.
The FTC recommends that people who are willing to rent should take into account how the whole process works, since doing so will avoid disappointment or complaints, so these are the points that people who aspire to be tenants should know.
Lease agreement: what does it entail?
The lease is the document that the person interested in renting signs with the owner of the property in which essential points will be determined such as how much rent will be paid, when it will be paid and how long the apartment or house will be rented.
According to the FTC, it is important that in the contract it is clear what penalty there will be if it is not paid on time, the rules that the tenant must follow, as well as other costs that the interested party must pay. The document should determine if utility costs are included in your rent.
It is important that the interested parties determine in writing if the rent payment includes utilities such as heating and water, if these issues are the responsibility of the owner to pay those bills.
The federal agency stated that if utilities are not included in the rent, then the potential tenant must pay those bills. Utilities can be expensive.
Once the agreements on the costs of the services are clear and if they are included in the rent, the duration of the contract should be considered, in general it can last a year or more.
It is recommended that people who only want to be in the property for a certain time, look for short-term or month-to-month lease options. It is important that an agreement is reached to avoid breaching the established contract.
If the person or persons move out before the end date of your lease, it is called breaking your lease. There is a possibility that they will have to pay extra money.
The Federal Trade Commission asks tenants to read their lease to see how much money they will have to pay if they move out before the lease term ends.