Having trouble finding simple lease agreement templates you can trust? You’re not alone. The internet is full of free lease agreements, and they’re easy to find. But how can you be sure that a free lease agreement is legally compliant without hiring an attorney to review it?
To help you out, this article will answer common questions about where property managers can find simple legal lease agreement templates. Once you’re finished, you should feel more confident about finding ones that work for you.
Evaluating your options
Legal lease templates are easy to find, but they can be expensive to purchase one at a time. That’s why some property managers choose to write their own rental lease agreements, risking accuracy and legality — just as they would with free templates.
An attorney can always prepare lease documents for you. This ensures compliance, but it’s probably both the least efficient and most expensive option.
Somewhere, there has to be a balance between affordability, reliability and simplicity.
Is it legal to write your own lease agreement?
Yes, it’s completely legal to write your own lease agreement. However, doing so places all the responsibility and risk on you. You’ll need to ensure your lease covers all necessary details and complies fully with local laws.
A basic rental agreement might seem sufficient, but it’s easy to miss critical requirements without legal oversight. We’ll look at two state-specific examples to show you why.
California
In California, lease regulations vary greatly depending on whether the unit is stabilized or not. Additionally, California cities and counties require specific brochures and disclosures to accompany every lease agreement.
New York
A lease that’s valid in upstate areas may be entirely noncompliant in New York City. That’s because NYC requires nearly 30 different brochures and disclosures depending on the apartment’s regulatory status. Due to these complexities, you may need separate lease templates for regulated and unregulated units.
What do property managers miss when they write their own leases?
When drafting leases independently, many property managers overlook essential addenda. Here’s a sample of commonly forgotten items:
- Animal addendum (pets and service animals)
- Appliance guidelines, rules and responsibilities
- Asbestos disclosure
- Community rules
- Laundry and recreational facility usage
- Crime-free addendum including a tenant’s right to contact law enforcement
- Fireplace or wood pellet burning rules
- Distinctions between furnished vs. unfurnished units
- Smoke and carbon monoxide detector guidelines
The list of potential omissions is extensive, and this list only scratches the surface. Most property managers simply don’t think of all these items, increasing risk when drafting leases themselves.
So, while it’s perfectly legal to create your own lease, the critical question remains: Should you?
Free lease agreement templates: Pros & cons
Free online templates are rarely updated or tailored to specific local regulations. While they may seem like an easy solution for those seeking simple lease agreement templates or basic residential lease forms, they can come with serious drawbacks.
Free lease agreement templates lack this diligent maintenance, potentially leaving property managers using outdated or incomplete documents. In most cases, the potential legal headache is not worth the “savings” of free templates.
Who uses free online leasing docs?
If you only manage one or two doors, you might be able to get away with free lease agreement templates. But even then, and especially as your business grows, you’ll want rental agreements that cover your bases.
Attorney-prepared leases: Pros & cons
Attorney-prepared leases offer customization specific to your needs, which can be advantageous. However, most property managers don’t update these leases regularly. For example, a lease drafted by an attorney in 2019 that’s still in use today likely doesn’t reflect current laws.
RentCafe Lease Docs vs. other lease agreement templates
If you’re looking for lease agreements you don’t have to update and manage yourself, we have one solution that Breeze Premier users are finding extremely effective. That solution is RentCafe Lease Docs.
Built by Yardi, RentCafe Lease Docs integrates seamlessly with any of our property management systems. This integration automates data entry, including tenant names, unit numbers and rent amounts. Once a lease is set up, each subsequent lease requires just a few clicks, bypassing the need for redundant manual data entry.
RentCafe Lease Docs offers the reliability, affordability and simplicity that property managers look for from a software provider. We continuously monitor legislative updates across the 41 states and Washington, D.C., that we cover. Additionally, we keep track of local city and county laws, ensuring our lease templates are updated monthly based on any legal changes.
Our leasing tool incorporates regular updates directly into your leases, eliminating dependence on law firms for notifications about legal changes. RentCafe Lease Docs offers a significant advantage for anyone looking for reliable and simple lease agreement templates.
Pricing for RentCafe Lease Docs
Yardi Breeze Premier clients pay a flat fee for unlimited RentCafe Lease Docs access. The pricing remains consistent whether you manage 10 or 10,000 units.
Does every lease have to be notarized?
Notarization is generally unnecessary. Washington is the only state requiring notarization, and only for leases exceeding one year.
Is there any benefit to notarizing even when it’s not required?
Typically, no. Our software electronically verifies signer identity, which is legally binding. Notarization is primarily relevant for documents recorded with the county — a practice rarely applicable to residential leases. It’s more commonly associated with ownership documentation such as home purchases.
Can you outgrow RentCafe Lease Docs?
You can’t outgrow RentCafe Lease Docs — that’s the product’s primary strength. Services like LegalZoom typically require you to generate and pay for one lease at a time. This method works fine for managing a few properties, but it isn’t easily scalable or sustainable for larger portfolios.
Our team continuously updates lease documents to reflect changing laws. And because the system integrates fully with Breeze Premier, your operation doesn’t become more complex as it expands.
So, whether you want leases that are customizable or plug-and-play, or a robust solution that grows with your business, RentCafe Lease Docs will always be able to meet your needs.
Contact us to learn more about pricing, compliance or anything else related to RentCafe Lease Docs.
Disclaimer
We hope you enjoyed this post, which is for general information purposes only. The opinions, analysis and commentary expressed are not and cannot be relied on as legal advice, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Yardi Systems, Inc. or any of its affiliates.
