You must have your Landlord Agreement in writing and not just verbal when you are planning to rent out your property to a tenant. It doesn't matter if your tenant is someone you don't know, your best friend or even a relative, I should say especially for a relative.

If for example, you the private landlord tell your tenant that they have to pay rent monthly in advance on the first day of the month but you do not have it in writing, signed by the tenant, there is nothing to fall back on if the tenant doesn't pay in advance or doesn't pay on the first of the month.

The Landlord Agreement Keeps the Peace

When you have your agreement in writing and both you and your tenant have signed it, the document is legal and binding. A handshake or a verbal agreement is also legal but the problem though, is that there is no evidence of what was agreed between you the private landlord and your tenant.

So if there are any issues arising during the period of the rental it becomes "he said/she said" and nothing can be proven.

Verbal Landlord Agreements - Recipe For Disaster

Regardless of the size of your property or how honest your new tenants look, you must protect yourself by having everything in writing. With verbal agreements it comes down to who the judge believes, if you need to take the tenant to court for any reason, or if the tenant is taking you the private landlord to court over something he or she said you agreed to do but didn't do.

Better to be Safe than Sorry

As a private landlord, a tenant is renting or leasing your property, you have rules and guidelines that you expect them to follow, but if it is not in writing, you cannot enforce them, not only that it makes it difficult for your tenant to remember them.

The Landlord Agreement

There are many forms of the landlord agreement, lease agreements, tenancy agreements, private renter agreements but they all boil down to the same thing. They state in writing the terms and conditions under which you the private landlord are willing to allow your tenant to occupy your property.

In a very basic agreement it would have details of the property being let, the owner - you the private landlord, the tenant, terms of payment, how much, how often and when.

Of course I would recommend you use an agreement that has substantially more content so it covers details of notice to terminate the agreement, how much and by whom, and special conditions that the tenant must comply with, you probably wouldn't want your tenant turning your yard into a wreckers would you?

Landlord Agreement Advice

If you are just beginning with rental properties, do things right from the start, even if you just have one small unit. Prepare the necessary landlord agreement and ensure that that your tenant understands it.

Make sure your Landlord Agreement is signed and dated by yourself and the tenant and that your tenant receives a copy of the agreement. This puts you and your tenant on a firm foundation for the long term rental success of your property.

Do you need help finding a Landlord Agreement? Just go to The Landlord Protection Agency website www.thelpa.com, you will find free sample agreements there that you can download.

You won't know how much importance to put on a written landlord agreement until something goes wrong.