It has been stated repeatedly that a renters agreement or a standard lease agreement is the landlord’s best friend as it clearly defines the relationship between the landlord and the tenant, as well as states what the rights and responsibilities are of both parties involved in the rental or leasing of residential property. The above sentence should be enough to convince every landlord that they need to be using rental lease agreements, but lets discuss what happens if you are foolish enough not to use one.

First and foremost, residential lease agreements are a legally binding contract between a property owner, or landlord, and a renter, or tenant. It gives you certain legal rights that are enforceable in a court of law. Without a rental contract, you are severely limiting your ability to bring legal action against your tenants.

If you choose not to use a landlord tenant lease form, you are not able to set out the ground rules for your tenants to follow. They can basically do whatever they want to your valuable property because you have not told them otherwise, nor do you have a legally enforceable residential rental contract to specify what is and isn’t allowed.

If you rent apartment units without apartment lease forms, you will have the same issues, but on a much larger scale. Imagine having anywhere from a handful of tenants to dozens of tenants that are renting from you without any formal contract. This is a recipe for disaster as they will feel like they can do anything they want to your property because there is no legal document to stop them otherwise.

The bottom line is that if you choose not to use apartment or house rental agreements, you are setting yourself up for disaster. In order to run a successful, long lasting property management business, you have to use the proper agreements. This means use a state-specific agreement, such as a California rental lease agreement, that is applicable to the location the residence you are renting in and which covers all aspects of the rental. Any other choice is just a foolish one.