What is a rental housing agreement?
Entering the rental housing market requires you as a tenant to understand every step of the rental process. One especially crucial element is to know the answer to the question “what is a rental housing agreement?”.
When renting a room, an apartment or a house you should enter a rental agreement with the landlord, which can be a private person or a professional company. The rental housing agreement is either a formal document that is prepared in writing, or a verbal agreement. Although a verbal agreement can be a fully binding agreement, it can be very difficult to prove in certain situations. Instead, the most common and safe way for both parties is to sign a physical document when entering a rental housing agreement.
Rental contracts are generally month to month and can look different depending on the specific housing. In general the contract should state necessary terms such as; the start and end of the rental period, size of the housing, security deposit, monthly rent, maintenance and additional bills. Before signing you should read through the contract carefully. It is critical to understand both your own and the landlords obligations in relation to the agreement.
If you are unsure about any part of the rental housing agreement you should get legal advice. In some countries you can be offered free legal assistance to review the contract and establish whether the contract is legally correct and fair. The contract signing is one of the most significant steps in the process of moving in to a new rental housing and should therefore not be hurried through. Take your time to go through the contract and make sure you fully understand every factor of your rental housing agreement.