Why start from scratch and reinvent the wheel all by yourself? If you are a landlord, regardless if you own one rental or many, there are a variety of forms and agreements you will need. “Leases & Rental Agreements” by Marcia Stewart and Attorneys Ralph Warner & Janet Portman is a Nolo publication that is billed as your lease and rental documents companion. It’s a good reference to get you started.
The first chapter is pretty short and is basically a ‘this is what this book can help with” intro with a list of 11 tips for being a successful landlord. Really not needed in a book of forms, but didn’t hurt. It was only a page.
Chapter two covers preparing a lease or rental agreement and walks you through most of the common clause you may wish to include. 25 clauses are covered, things like term of the tenancy, payment of rent, utilities, and pets. There is also a short segment on signing the lease or rental agreement. Good basic information to assist someone in forming their own agreement. You may wish to look over agreements you are using with this chapter to ensure you have covered everything you need to. There is a sample, fill in the blank form, that is also included on the accompanying CD.
Chapter three focuses on choosing tenants and contains information regarding advertising properties, accepting rental applications, references, and choosing applicants. There is a sample rental application that is also found on the CD, as well as some other forms.
Chapter four is titled Getting the Tenant Moved In and contains checklists for moving in, move-in letters, and a bit about organizing your tenant records. Pretty short chapter, but it does provide you a sample checklist to help you with making your own, or modifying the one they provide to fit your needs.
Chapter five is on changing or ending a tenancy and the forms and notices that go along with that. This is actually the last chapter and ends with page 105.
Appendix A contains State Landlord-Tenant Law Charts. I’m not sure why they put these here, except to lengthen the book a bit. I didn’t expect this in a form book. The charts tell you what code sections you’ll find the State law in, and then some very basic tid bits on the law. And one must remember that laws change, so before relying on what is included in this book, I’d suggest and demand that you look up the actual statues of your jurisdiction to ensure you have correct and up to date law.
Appendix B contains instructions regarding the forms on the CD.
Appendix C has Tear-Out Landlord Rental Forms for those that may not have access to a computer to be able to use the CD. They are also nice to have to use as samples to create your own. (Forms are also included in Spanish)
Some of the information in this book can be found in other Nolo titles with more detail. The law section in the Appendix is probably not needed. However, the sample forms, the instruction on the various clauses of the rental agreement, and having the forms on the accompanying CD is nice to have. As an attorney, I really like many of the books Nolo puts out. I think they do a very good job at accomplishing their goal to bring legal information to everyone. This book is a good reference, but not as compete as many of Nolo’s other titles. It will help you get started, but I strongly recommend you check your State statutes and not just rely on this text for State law, and once you have used this book to prepare your documents, it would be wise to have a professional review them for you to ensure you haven’t missed anything and to make sure you are compliant with all local laws and regulations.
Leases & Rental Agreements by Marcia Stewart and Attorneys Ralph Warner & Janet Portman
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