Time was that a handshake meant you agreed. There was even a time when a handshake was enough to cement an agreement with a tenant when you rented to him or her. That was before the days of landlord-tenant laws, landlord-hating attorneys and tenant-friendly judges. But there’s more to it than that.
When you rent to a tenant, when you let someone move into your rental property with just a handshake agreement, exactly what are you agreeing to? When you rent your property with a handshake, you may be agreeing to one thing, and your tenant to something else. Each of you thinks you are agreeing to the same things, but you aren’t.
You think that you are agreeing that the tenant will pay the rent on the first day of every month, come hell or high water. Your brand-new tenant thinks as long as the rent is there sometime during the month it’s just fine. I had a tenant tell me once that he had never had to pay rent in advance before. I was curious what planet he was from, but his application said he was from California . The rental agreement made clear that rent in advance was expected.
You think that the tenant will ask you if and what colors he can paint the apartment. Your tenant thinks that whatever he wants to do in his home is his decision alone.
You think that “normal wear and tear” means the apartment should look pretty much as it did when the tenant moved in—a few dings in the wall, maybe, but certainly clean. You tenant thinks that “normal wear and tear” means that the apartment is still standing when he moves out.
You think that when you rent to a husband, his wife and child that they are the only people who will be living in your property. The tenant thinks that he can rent out rooms and move in his extended family, amounting to 10 people in a two-bedroom apartment.
That’s why we have rental agreements and leases.
Rental agreements and leases don’t mean you distrust the other person, they mean you’re both on the same page. Even minor disagreements and misunderstandings as to what was meant can lead to hard feelings and/or a good tenant moving out. Major disagreements and misunderstandings can end up in eviction court. Who knows what the outcome will be there without a rental agreement and with landlord-hating lawyers and tenant-friendly judges.
Good rental agreements are easy to come by. Your local apartment, landlord or rental owners associations have forms designed for your state and locality. A good rental agreement means better tenant relations and everybody agreeing to the same things.