Read Your Contract Carefully

READ YOUR CONTRACT CAREFULLY!!! Do not rely on any verbal promises. Many tenants barely even skim their renting agreement before signing their name at the bottom. Most tenants are primarily concerned with the every month charges, one time only fees, required deposits and other financial matters. Once they verify this information is correct according to their conversations with the renting agent, they frequently sign the agreement without any questions asked. This is a mistake because a rental agreement is a legal contract which may have a host of important information which the tenant should be aware of before signing the document.

Considering a Roommate?

Those who are considering the possibility of a roommate may mistakenly believe this is possible as they’re living alone and have two bedrooms and two bedrooms. These uninformed tenants may see a chance to share their rent with another. However, a few lease agreements strictly prohibit tenants from soliciting their own roommates and allowing an additional person to move into the flat after the lease is already signed. Tenants who violate this agreement may face harsh penalties. These penalties may even include eviction.

Tenants who wish to have the choice of a roommate should ideally make this decision before the contract is signed. This will enable the householder to put provisions into the contract to allow for the tenant to add an additional resident at any time. The renting agent may still require final approval of your roommate but this approval process will likely be dependent on the results of a background check as well as a check of the potential roommate’s finances.

Want to Adopt a Pet?

Tenants who want to adopt a pet in the near future should also familiarize themselves with the lease agreement. This is important as limitations on the types, size and particular breed of pets apply not only when the tenant moves in but throughout the terms of his lease agreement. This means a tenant who’s signed contractual documents stating they don’t own any of the disallowed pets such as dogs or cats are not free to buy or adopt additional pets during the course of the lease agreement. Therefore, tenants who don’t have pets but plan to adopt or buy pets in the near future should read the contract documents as if they’re already a pet owner and decide whether or not to sign based on the statements within the policy.

Plan on Having Visitors Regularly?

Even tenants who have regular overnight guests should familiarize themselves with their lease agreement before signing the document. This is important as frequent guests may really be considered residents in a few situations. This will likely depend on the particular lease agreement but it’s not entirely rare for leasing agents to specify that visitors who spend a specific number of nights on the property per month are considered to be residents of the flat. This is important as the lease agreement may clearly identify how many people may reside in the flat at any one time.

Visitors who are staying at the flat too often may put the resident at risk of being accused of having additional persons living in the flat. In a few situations this might be considered cause for eviction. For this reason, the tenant should make sure he’s familiar with the terms of the agreement before allowing others to spend the night in the flat on a regular basis.