Rental agreement
A rental agreement is a contract of rental, usually written, between the owner of a property and a renter who desires to have temporary possession of the property; it is distinguished from a lease, which is more typically for a fixed term. As a minimum, the agreement identifies the parties, the property, the term of the rental, and the amount of rent for the term. The owner of the property may be referred to as the lessor and the renter as the lessee.
There is typically an implied, explicit, or written rental agreement or contract involved to specify the terms of the rental, which are regulated and managed under contract law.
Examples include letting out real estate for the purpose of housing tenure, parking space for a vehicle, storage space, whole or portions of properties for business, agricultural, institutional, or government use, or other reasons.
Real estate rental
When renting real estate, the person or party who lives in or occupies the real estate is often called a tenant, paying rent to the owner of the property, often called a landlord. The real estate rented may be all or part of almost any real estate, such as an apartment, house, building, business office or suite, land, farm, or merely an inside or outside space to park a vehicle, or store things all under real estate law.The tenancy agreement for real estate is often called a lease, and usually involves specific property rights in real property, as opposed to chattels.
A rental agreement is often called a lease, especially when real estate is rented. In addition to the basics of a rental, a real estate rental may go into much more detail on these and other issues. The real estate may be rented for housing, parking a vehicle, storage, business, agricultural, institutional, or government use, or other reasons.
- Who: The parties involved in the contract, the lessor and the lessee are identified in the contract. A housing lease may specify whether the renter is living alone, with family, children, roommate, visitors. A rental may delineate the rights and obligations of each of these. For example, a "sub-let" to a stranger might not be permitted without permission of the landlord. This also applies to whether or not pets may be kept by the renter. On the other hand, the renter may also have specific rights against intrusions by the landlord, except under emergency circumstances. A renter is in possession of the property, and a landlord would be trespassing upon the renter's rights if entry is made without proper notice and authority.
- What: Rented real estate may include all or part of almost any real property, such as an apartment, house, building, business office or suite, land, farm, or merely an inside or outside space to park a vehicle, or store things. The premises rented may include not only specific rooms, but also access to other common areas such as off-street parking, basement or attic storage, laundry facility, pool, roof-deck, balconies, etc. The agreement may specify how and when these places may be used, and by whom. There may be detailed description of the current condition of the premises, for comparison with the condition at the time the premises are surrendered.
- When: the term of the rental may be for a night, weeks, months, or years. There may be statutory provisions requiring registration of any rental that could extend for more than a specified number of years in order to be enforceable against a new landlord.
- How much: Rent may be payable monthly, annually, or in advance, or as otherwise agreed. A typical arrangement for tenancy at will is "first and last month's rent" plus a security deposit. The "last month's rent" is rent that has yet to be earned by the landlord.
Deposit
Insurance
In order to rent or lease in many apartment buildings, a renter is often required to provide proof of renters insurance before signing the rental agreement. There is a special type of the homeowners insurance in the United States specifically for renters — HO-4. This is commonly referred to as renter’s insurance or renter's coverage. Similar to condominium coverage, referred to as a HO-6 policy, a renter's insurance policy covers those aspects of the apartment and its contents not specifically covered in the blanket policy written for the complex. This policy can also cover liabilities arising from accidents and intentional injuries for guests as well as passers-by up to 150' of the domicile. Renter’s policies provide "named peril" coverage, meaning the policy states specifically what you are insured against. Common coverage areas are:- Fire or Lightning
- Windstorm
- Smoke
- Vandalism or Malicious Mischief
- Theft
- Accidental Discharge of Water
Rental of personal property
The time use of a chattel or other so called "personal property" is covered under general contract law, but the term lease also nowadays extends to long term rental contracts of more expensive non-Real properties such as automobiles, boats, planes, office equipment and so forth. The distinction in that case is long term versus short term rentals. Some non-real properties commonly available for rent or lease are:- motion pictures on VHS or DVD, of audio CDs, of computer programs on CD-ROM.
- transport equipment, such as an automobile or a bicycle.
- ships and boats, in which case rental is known as chartering, and the rent is known as hire or freight
- aircraft, in which case rental is known as chartering, or leasing if the rental is longer term
- specialized tools, such as a chainsaw, laptop, IT equipment or something more substantial, such as a forklift.
- large equipment such as cranes, oil rigs and submarines.
- a deckchair or beach chair and umbrella.
- furniture
- designer handbags, jewelry, sunglasses and watches.
- electrical items such as washing machines
- rental
As seen from the examples, some rented goods are used on the spot, but usually they are taken along; to help guarantee that they are brought back, one or more of the following applies:
- one shows an identity document
- one signs a contract; any damage already present when renting may be noted down to avoid that the renter is blamed for it when the good is returned
- one pays a damage deposit
In certain types of rental the charge may be calculated by the rental charge + timesheets of operators or drivers supplied by the rental company to operate the equipment. This is particularly relevant for crane rental companies.
Sometimes the risk that the good is kept is reduced by it being a special model or having signs on it that cannot easily be removed, making it obvious that it is owned by the rental company; this is especially effective for goods used in public places, but even when used at home it may help due to social control.
Persons and businesses that regularly rent goods from a particular company generally have an account with that company, which reduces the administrative procedure on each occasion.
Signing out books from a library could be considered renting when there is a fee per book. However the term lending is more common.
Car rental
In addition to the above, a car rental agreement may include various restrictions on the way a renter can use a car, and the condition in which it must be returned. For example, some rentals cannot be driven off-road, or out of the country, or towing a trailer, without specific permission. In New Zealand you may have to specifically endorse a promise that the car will not be driven onto Ninety-mile Beach.There will certainly be a requirement to show a driver's license, and only those drivers appearing on the contract may be authorized to drive. It may include an option to purchase auto insurance, if the renter does not already have a policy to cover rentals—another important consideration for multiple drivers. Some agencies may even require a bond payable if the car is not returned in order, often held in the form of a credit-card authorization—voided if the car is returned per agreement. A renter should be advised that he or she will be responsible for any parking or traffic violations incurred upon the vehicle during the rental period. There should also be advice on handling thefts, accidents, break-downs, and towing.
Further terms may include added fees for late returns, drop-off at a different location, or failure to top up the petrol immediately before the return.
Finally, there may be provisions for making a non-refundable deposit with a booking, terms for payment of the initial period, extended periods, and any damages or other fees that accrue prior to the return.