Free Lease and Rental Agreements

Create and Download a Residential Lease & Rental Agreement printable PDF for Landlords. This state-specific Lease is customizable and includes all required laws. Free to create & can be customized in less than 15 minutes. Document Last Modified: 5/28/2024

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Lease Agreement

A Lease is a contract between a Landlord and Tenant that outlines the terms under which a Tenant rents property owned by the Landlord. It’s an essential document for Landlords because it’s legally binding and outlines the roles and responsibilities of both parties. The Lease Agreement not only provides legal protection should any problems arise, but it also lays the foundation for the Landlord Tenant relationship. When you give a Tenant keys to your property, you’re handing over legal possession. Before you do that, you need a comprehensive rental Lease Agreement in place that’s been signed by both parties. Read on to learn more about residential Lease Agreement or start building the Lease Agreement that’s right for you.

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Lease Agreements by State and your State Laws

We Provide the Highest Quality Lease Available Online

We offer Landlords an easy way to create a comprehensive rental Lease Agreement that is state-specific and that is guaranteed to comply with all of THEIR state’s laws.

Our Lease Builder Wizard lets Landlords customize their Lease Agreement or rental agreement online. Plus, it gives State Assist tips throughout so Landlords know any specific information that they need to include. It’s not just a Lease Agreement template, it’s a dynamic and customizable document.

Here are just a few of the features that Landlords love about our ezProLease Agreement:

We make it easy to rent your property and to get the most out of your real estate investments!

Start Building Your Lease Agreement Now

Download and e-sign your Pro Lease

A Great Lease Agreement Makes a Great Landlord

Every Landlord needs a great Lease Agreement to define the terms of the relationship between the Landlord and Tenant and to provide protection when issues arise with residential property they rent. This video explains why the Lease Agreement is so important, what it should include, and how anyone can easily create a great one.

Pro Tip for First-Time Landlords that Want to Rent Out Real Estate:

Real estate can be a great investment and the role of Landlord can be a rewarding one. However, it also can involve lots of work and headaches. At ezLandlordForms, we help you eliminate the headaches and make it as easy as possible for you to get the most out of your real estate investments.

The first step is a great Lease Agreement. This means a Lease Agreement that includes more than just each month’s rent and the amount of the security deposit. Instead, every Landlord needs a Lease Agreement or rental contract that provides details on all aspects of the property and leaves no confusion about who does what.

Sounds complicated, but don’t worry - we’ve got you covered.

Residential Leases

Lease Agreement Page Contents

  1. Understanding the Residential Lease
  2. Start Your Residential Lease Agreement
  3. The Lease Builder Wizard
  4. How the Lease-Building Process Works
  5. Why You Need a State Specific Lease
  6. What’s Included in the ezProLease and the Free Lease?
  7. Our Leases at a Glance
  8. ezSign
  9. ezCloudStorage
  10. What Should be included in a Complete Lease Package?
  11. What Are the Steps of the Leasing Process?
  12. Checklist - Are You Ready to Rent Your Property?
  13. Speaking of Checklists. Is There a Lease-Signing Checklist I Can Follow?
  14. Frequently Asked Questions
  15. Free Resources
  16. Related Forms
  17. Related Articles

Understanding the Residential Lease Agreement

A residential Lease can be confusing, especially for a new or inexperienced Landlord. With our Lease Builder Wizard, creating a Lease Agreement is easy and straightforward. We’ve done all of the hard work so you don’t have to.

But, our goal at ezLandlordForms is to give Landlords everything they need to get the most out of the property they rent and their real estate investments. This not only means the tools and forms they need but also the resources and educational content they want to understand every aspect of the process.

With that in mind, here’s a simple overview of the residential Lease Agreement to help make any Landlord - new or experienced - an expert. Plus, it’ll help make it easy to rent any residential property.

Other Terms You Might Hear for Lease Agreement

It can be frustrating to hear lots of different terms thrown around when you’re dealing with legal documents. Especially if they’re all essentially referring to the same thing.

To help make this less confusing, here’s a list of other terms that you might hear that all are referring to the Lease Agreement:

It’s worth noting that generally, a rental agreement is for a number of days, often 30 days. In contrast, a Lease Agreement is for a longer period of time, usually 12 months.

That said, both the rental agreement and Lease are terms that refer to the contract that outlines the relationship between the Landlord and Tenant. The primary difference is the period of time of the agreement.

What Should be Included in a Lease Agreement?

A Lease is a contract between the Landlord and Tenant, and there are some basic terms that should be included in any standard Lease Agreement. These include:

Beyond these basic terms, a more comprehensive Lease Agreement includes:

While the specifics of your Lease may vary, it’s important to remember that any time you rent real estate, you need to have a comprehensive Lease!

View a sample residential Lease to get a better understanding of exactly what this document should include.

Start Your Free Lease

When is a Lease Needed?

Any time you rent a property you need to have a Lease, or rental contract, in place. This is true whether you rent to a friend or family member or whether you rent to someone you don’t know.

The Lease outlines the responsibilities and the rights of both the Tenant and Landlord, and it’s absolutely necessary to protect both parties whenever real estate is rented. It provides written consent from both parties to comply with the terms of the rental agreement.

When something goes wrong with a rental property, it’s the Lease Agreement, and the written consent it provides, that protects the Landlord.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of things that can go wrong including:

Sadly, a handshake or a security deposit is not enough to protect you when things go wrong with a property you rent. You need a thorough Lease Agreement, offering documentation and written consent, to ensure that you and your real estate are protected.

A good Lease will protect you by:

When a Tenant violates a term of the rental Lease Agreement, the Landlord may terminate the Lease. However, it’s often in the Landlord's best interest to simply use the terms of the Lease to resolve the issue and to take steps to ensure that the Tenant complies with the Lease Agreement in the future

While you have other safety measures in place, like the security deposit and homeowners insurance, neither gives you the full protection that you need. It’s the Lease that makes sure that you can rest EZ knowing you and your residential property are protected.

Start Your Residential Lease Agreement

We offer two types of Leases, a free Lease Agreement and an ezProLease. Both are created online with our Lease Builder Wizard and offer ezStateAssist tips to make sure you know the applicable laws.

They are both completely built and customized online. This means that once your Lease is drafted, it’s ready for your Tenant to review and sign (no need for filling in blanks or writing in details).

Here’s a brief overview of what’s included in each of our Lease Agreement.

Residential Leases

Free

This rental Lease Agreement is a simple, two-page Lease that anyone can create at any time. It’s easy to build and customize online. It’s built using our Lease Builder Wizard and includes the basic terms of a Lease Agreement, like rent amount, rent due date, rent late fees, security deposit, and the lease term.

Unlike some of our competitor’s Leases, this Lease Agreement is entirely completed online. You don’t have to print it out and then fill in blanks or write in information. You can fully customize it online, and then your printed Lease Agreement is ready for the Tenant to review and sign.

Some companies offer just a lease Agreement template that the Landlord may print out and fill in. It’s important to note that our Lease is much more than a basic lease Agreement template and instead is an interactive document that the Landlord may build and customize online.

This printable Lease can be created and printed for free. No credit card required.

The ezProLease includes all of your state’s unique rules and regulations. Each location has its own Landlord-Tenant laws that you must comply with. As a result, drafting a Lease is not a “one-size-fits-all” task.

To ensure that every Landlord has a Lease Agreement that is State Specific, our ezProlease includes ezStateAssist tips to highlight any unique laws that you must comply with. It then automatically includes any necessary language in your Lease Agreement. Plus, it automatically includes any additional documents required.

With the ezProLease, you also have the opportunity to add custom text or to select from an extensive list of pre-written rules and regulations. To further meet every Landlord’s needs, this Lease Agreement offers a list of over 25 addenda, documents, and disclosures that the Landlord may select from.

This means you’ll be able to create a complete Lease Package for your Tenant.

Once your Lease is completed, it can be emailed to the Tenant for review and then signed electronically by both parties with ezSign. Once it’s fully executed, it’s automatically stored securely with ezCloudStorage.

The Lease Builder Wizard

Yep, we said Lease Builder Wizard. It sounds cool because it is cool. Our Lease Builder Wizard is part of what sets our Leases apart and what makes the Lease-building process so easy for every Landlord.

Both of our Leases are built with this user-friendly tool that:

Once you’ve followed all the prompts, you’ll have a customized Lease that is ready for Tenants to review. Everything is done online and is, well, ez. Try it now.

Build the Free Lease and ezProLease together, then decide which one is best for you.

How the Lease-Building Process Works

When you draft a Lease with our Lease Builder Wizard, you’ll simultaneously build both the Free and ezProLease. Once you’ve finished, you’ll have a chance to preview both and then make a decision about which one is best for you.

This is just another feature that sets our product apart - you get a chance to preview both, see the differences for yourself, and then make a decision.

It’s a simple, three-step process:

  1. Build Your Custom Lease
  2. Preview both Versions
  3. Choose Which Version is Best for You

We say this a lot, but for lack of a better word, it’s easy.

Residential Leases

Why You Need a State Specific Lease

Another thing that sets our ezProLease apart is that it’s State Specific. We understand what this means better than anyone else, and we want to make sure that you do too.

Your Lease needs to comply with the laws where your rental property is located. The tricky thing is that each state has its own laws - for example, some have very specific requirements about security deposits, others require specific terms be included in a rental agreement form, while still others have specific guidelines about rent.

This means that drafting a Lease is not a one-size-fits-all process. Instead, your Lease Agreement needs to follow and comply with the laws where the property you rent is located. This is what it means for a Lease to be State Specific.

It’s a pretty simple idea, but it’s not an easy task to draft this type of Lease.

In fact, it can be incredibly difficult, especially for:

Thankfully, we’ve done all the hard work to create a Lease Agreement that:

  1. Includes ezStateAssist tips to make sure each Landlord knows the unique laws where they rent property
  2. Automatically includes any specific language, clauses, or terms required where they rent property
  3. Automatically includes any addenda or documents required where they rent property

We’re so confident about these features that we guarantee your Lease will comply with your state’s laws.

Each of these features is important, so here’s a more indepth look at them.

State Assist

Each location has some unique rules and requirements. When you build a Lease Agreement with our Lease Builder Wizard, our ezStateAssist highlights those requirements and tells you everything you need to include to comply with the laws where you rent property.

This means that you don’t have to worry about knowing a bunch of laws. We know them all, and we’ve got you covered.

Residential Leases

State Required Text

Some places require that additional text be included in the Lease itself. When you build an ezProLease, that additional text is automatically included.

This means that if your state requires that certain rules or regulations be included, we’ll let you know and our Lease Builder Wizard will automatically include the additional text. Pretty easy, huh?

State Required Documents

Some locations require that additional documents be included with the Lease, for example, a lead-based paint disclosure or an asbestos disclosure. Our Lease Builder Wizard includes over 25 addenda and documents, and we’ll let you know any that are required in your location.

What’s Included in the ezProLease and the Free Lease?

While you’ll get to build both Leases before deciding which one is right for you, we know that you want all the information you can get before making this decision. To help you decide which Lease is right for you, here’s a closer look at exactly what’s included in each.

ezProLease

The ezProLease is our crown jewel and we couldn’t be more proud of it. It gives you a comprehensive, customizable, and State Specific Lease. Not only that, but it includes everything you need to create a complete Lease Package. And perhaps best of all, it’s easy for the Landlord to create. We love it and think you will too. Here are some more details about this gem of a Lease.

Lease Cover Page

The ezProLease is thorough and detailed, addressing all necessary terms and clearly outlining all roles and responsibilities for both the Landlord and Tenant. It leaves no room for confusion and ensures that Landlords are thoroughly protected before handing over legal possession of their property.

And, all of that punch is packed neatly in your Lease Package, which starts with a Cover Page that helps to keep things organized, professional, and well documented. It sounds like a simple addition, but it’s really important when it comes to being prepared, organized, professional and protected.

Residential Leases

Table of Contents (TOC)

The ezProLease includes a TOC that outlines every section and form included in the Lease.

And the best part is, it’s dynamically created, which means that as you build your Lease and add text, sections, disclosures and documents, the changes are automatically included in your TOC.

This feature isn’t just cool and easy to use, but it also means an added layer of protection, as it ensures a complete and accurate TOC that provides documentation that your Tenant received all pages and parts of the Lease Package.

Basically, it means less work for the Landlord and more protection. What’s not to love?

Lease Document

The ezProLease is written in simple language that both the Landlord and Tenant can easily understand. This might not sound all that important, but it’s one of the most important things Landlords should keep in mind when drafting a Lease.

The Lease not only provides legal protection and documentation, but it’s also there to provide the Landlord and Tenant with guidance about their respective roles. After all, a great Lease clearly outlines exactly who does what and covers any issues relating to the property.

If the Lease is written in legal jargon that neither party really understands, it simply won’t be able to serve this purpose.

To avoid this issue and to ensure that you get the most out of your Lease, our Leases are written in simple and plain language, not legal jargon. They are readable and written in language that leaves no confusion about who does what.

Residential Leases

Addenda, Disclosures, & Additional Documents

Our Lease Builder Wizard also lets Landlords select from over 25 addenda and additional documents to include as part of the Lease Package. For example, a Pet Policy, a Lead-Based Paint Disclosure, a Tenant Guest Policy, and a Smoke-Free Property Document.

These additional documents are important for not only ensuring your Lease has all necessary components, but also so you can include everything you need to create the complete Lease Package before Tenants take legal possession of your property.

These additional documents are one more way to establish a strong Landlord and Tenant relationship from day 1 and to make Move-In go as smoothly as possible.

Plus, a complete Lease Package means fewer issues and headaches for the Landlord, which leads to getting the most out of rental property.

Start Your Free Lease

Residential Leases

Free Lease

Like our ezProLease, this Lease is created using our Lease Builder Wizard, a user-friendly tool that makes it easy for Landlords to customize their Lease online in minutes. While using our Lease Builder Wizard, the Landlord will get State Assist tips that highlight applicable rules and regulations.

Once the Lease is built online, it’s ready for the Tenant to review and sign. There’s no need for writing in any information or filling in blanks. All details are updated when you build it online.

Unlike some of the residential Lease Agreement templates that our competitors offer, this is a customizable document that a Landlord creates with our Lease Builder Wizard. It offers much more than just a Lease Agreement template.

When it’s completed, simply print the Lease for use. Unlike the ezProLease, this Lease does not include state-specific clauses, addenda, or documents. It also does not give users the option to add custom clauses.

Landlords do not have to pay anything to build it or print it. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Nothing.