When a property owner is renting out an apartment to an individual or business, both parties need to sign a rental agreement form. This form officially recognizes the agreement between the property owner and the rentee.

Rental agreement forms ensure that both parties are on the same page regarding the terms of renting out the property. The content of this form varies depending on the kind of property (e.g. buildings, cars, equipment, etc.) that is being rented.

There are, however, various templates that can be followed when creating a rental agreement form. In this article, we will be sharing 7 easy-to-use rental agreement form templates that will protect you and your property for years to come. 

What is a Rental Agreement?

A rental agreement is a written document or contract that explicitly states the terms and conditions binding a property owner and his tenant with respect to a rented property. The landlord or a representative of the landlord (e.g. an estate management company) agrees to rent a portion (or all) of their property to an individual (or business) for a fee with some laid down conditions that are stated in the rental agreement.

Also known as a lease agreement, this contract identifies both parties, the property that is being rented out, and the terms of rental. This rental agreement can be valid for a particular period of time (e.g. a year) or for as long as the tenant continues to stay in the property.

If the agreement is valid for only a short period of time and the tenant wants to continue using the property after validity, it will need to be renewed.  

Types of Rental Agreement  

• Periodic Rental

A periodic rental agreement is to be renewed on a periodic basis. This could be monthly, quarterly, bi-annually, annually, etc.

In some cases, tenants usually roll over to a periodic rental when their fixed-term rental expires. Periodic rentals are great for low-income earners who may not be able to afford to pay for a short or long term rental. 

When renting out a building, tenants who subscribe to periodic leases are at risk of losing their tenancy. In some cases, tenants tend to pay before the end of their rent validity to retain their tenancy for another period. 

• Short fixed-term Rental

 A short fixed-term rental is a rental agreement that usually has its validity run for a period of time — from about 1 month to 5 years. The maximum number of years a short fixed-term lease will run is 5 years.

This type of rental agreement is great for individuals in a few years’ working contracts in a new country or city. They could sign a rental agreement for the number of years their contract covers.

This is also great for people who want to lease out land for a few years to do some farming or business. It is more secure compared to a periodic rental.

• Long fixed-term Rental

A long fixed-term rental allows tenants and landlords to tailor the terms of a lease agreement of more than five years, and agree upfront on things like rent increases and minor changes to the property. This rental agreement creates the most security for both tenants and landlords.

Some of the people who go into long term leases include families or business owners who would like to use the property as an office. In some cases, long term leases usually turn into a purchase agreement.

That is, after the end of the long term lease, the tenant may decide to purchase the property.

• Co-tenancy

 In a co-tenancy, every tenant individually signs the rental agreement, and they are equally responsible for paying their rent and taking care of the property. 

Therefore, no tenant will be held responsible for the action of other tenants. Except in cases where the tenants chose a representative amongst themselves.  

However, if the property is damaged and some of the tenants move out, the responsibility falls on the other tenants to make repairs. 

The disadvantage of living in a co-tenancy property is that certain legal issues may arise (for example, a dispute with another tenant about bills or changing details on the lease).

• Subletting

 In a subletting arrangement, someone rents the property and, in turn, rents out part or all of it to another person or people. The person or people named on the rental agreement are the head tenants and those renting from them are sub-tenants.

Unlike in a co-tenancy, a subtenant’s name may not appear on the rental agreement. In a sub-tenancy, the head tenant takes on the full legal responsibility of a landlord and will also take responsibility for any damage caused by the subtenants on the landlord’s property.

People sublet their apartment for different reasons. It may be due to financial difficulty, a business tactic, excess unoccupied space, or lack of availability.

The head tenant must get written permission from the landlord before subletting. If a tenant sublets the property without permission, the landlord can serve them with a 14-day notice to vacate (end the tenancy and leave the property).

Also, if it is written in the rental agreement that the tenant is not allowed to sublet the property, then it will be unlawful to do so.

• Rooming Rental

 In a rooming house, there are one or more rooms that are available for rent. In some cases, more than one person occupies a room. 

Rooming houses are also a great way to save costs and are common among undergraduates and fresh graduates who do not have a stable source of income yet. The people living in each room do not necessarily have anything to do with each other.

A rooming house resident is a person who rents a room in a rooming house as their only or main residence. A resident does not need to have a tenancy agreement to live in a rooming house.



Features of a Rental Agreement

A standard rental agreement will have the following information:

• Landlord Details

Basic information about the landlord or property owner should be added to the rental agreement form. This should include the full name of the landlord, as stated in the property document.

This clearly helps to identify who the landlord is during legal proceedings. Titles are not compulsory in this case, but they are a plus.

• Tenant Details

The tenant who wants to stay in the property should also submit his or her full name (first, second, and last names) in the rental agreement form. Nicknames are not advised to be submitted.

The name is also a means of identifying the tenant. Similarly, titles are not compulsory but are a plus.

• Property

The kind of property being rented out should be clearly stated in the agreement form. This should include a brief description of the property, its location, and the specific part of the property that is being rented out to the tenant.

For example, “The property being rented is a one-room apartment from the duplex located in [property location address]

• Rent Amount

 The amount of money being paid by the tenant to the landlord should be recorded in the form. This should also include when the rent is going to be due and how it should be paid to the landlord.

This could be via transfer to an account number or in cash. Details on how often the rent will be paid should also be stated (weekly? Monthly? Annual?)

• Validity Period

This is the period of time the tenant is allowed to live in the property following the initial rent payment. It shows the time validity of the rent paid by the tenant. 

For example, if rent is priced at $300 per month, and a tenant pays $1800, the validity of the payment is 6 months.

7 Rental Agreement Form Template to Use 

• Roommate Agreement Form

Share the cost of your rent by leasing out a unit of your apartment to a roommate. With a roommate agreement form, you get to legalize the terms and conditions of another individual living with you. 

This agreement form is perfect for college students or fresh graduates who would like to reduce the cost of accommodation. By going through a legal approach, you are able to protect the interests of you and your roommate in case things go south. 

For instance, you can ensure that your roommate does not bring another person home to squat in an already over-occupied apartment.

• Office Lease Agreement Form

Sign a legal contract with the proposed occupants of your vacant office space. The office lease agreement form template can be modified to include serviced provisions like cleaning, repairs, internet bills, electricity, etc.

This template is perfect for business owners who have extra space in their office and would like to lease it out to another person. Those who run a coworking space inside a rented apartment can also use the office lease agreement to explicitly define leasing terms.

Managing one or more tenants may not be easy, but with a spelled-out contract, you can avoid a lot of misunderstanding.

• Rental Application Form

Do you run a rental business? Or are you just an individual that has a couple of things for rent? Then, you should use this rental application form template to manage your client requests on your own terms.

Allow clients easily submit a rental request for your property while defining terms of use. This rental application form template allows you to collect client data, payments and set binding rules with ease.

This agreement template is perfect for apartment, car, and equipment rental. This will help you make money off your assets while they are not in use.

• Car Rental Agreement Form

A car rental agreement form can be used when renting out a car for a long or short period of time. This agreement could be between two individuals or a car rental company and an individual or another company.

This agreement holds the two parties involved in a number of responsibilities. When a client requests for a car hire service and you send them the agreement form, you are able to state the conditions for which you are giving out your car.

The form will contain information on how long you will be giving out your car for, who you will be giving your car to, and the terms around payment and condition of the car. 

• Equipment Lease Agreement Form

Make money while you are less busy by leasing out your equipment to those who need them. With an online equipment lease agreement form, you can state your leasing terms and lease out your equipment at a go. 

You can use the Formplus payment integration to receive payments for your equipment while also registering their agreement with the terms and conditions for equipment loss or damages. This will also enable you to track the pieces of equipment you are giving out for rent since it will be clearly stated in the agreement. 

This template is great for both business owners and individuals.

• Land Lease Agreement Form

You can lease out a piece of land for a few years for agricultural or commercial purposes. Earn money on your land while it appreciates in value without losing ownership.

With a land lease agreement form, you can clearly state the fact that you are not letting go of your land ownership, but only leasing it for a while. Having a written contract will help legalize your agreement and prevent someone else from claiming ownership on your property.

You can also choose to renew or regain ownership of your land once the lease contract expires.

• Sublease Agreement Form

Use a sublease agreement form to sublease an apartment that was leased to you. This way, you can make money off excess space that is not in use.

You may probably have to move to another city or travel for some time while your current rent has not expired. Subleasing your leased apartment is a great way to ensure that your money doesn’t go to waste.

With a sublease agreement form, you are able to explicitly state how long you will be staying out of your apartment. So, you can easily move in when you are back from your travel or move back to the city as the case may be.

Why Use Formplus For Your Rental Agreement Forms? 

• 30+ Form fields

Add the necessary information to your online rental form with the 30+ form fields available on Formplus. You can add the name, location, date, sort descriptions, etc. 

Formplus also allows you to add custom validations to these form fields to ensure that they are filled correctly.

• Prefilled forms

Formplus allows you to prefill the rental agreement form with the tenant’s information and signature before sending it to them. This is especially useful when renewing an existing or expired rental agreement contract.

Since the tenant’s information has been previously recorded in the Formplus storage, it will be pre-populated with the tenant’s data. You can do this by sending a personalized link to each tenant.

• Description

Explicitly define the agreement terms on your rental form using the Description form field. This allows you to properly spell out the conditions binding the rental agreement form. 

This could include issues on electricity, housekeeping, repairs, etc. In the case of a car or equipment, you can clearly state the consequences of damage done to your property.

• Payments

Receive payment in the same instant with the Formplus payment integration. With Formplus, you can collect payments via Paypal, Stripe, and Paystack.

This way, you can complete all the conditions stated in your rental agreement terms online. You can receive payments in different currencies anywhere in the world.

• Digital Signature

Allow your tenants to easily append their signature to the rental agreement form with the Formplus digital signature feature. This feature is available across all internet-enabled devices.

With Formplus, tenants no longer have to go through the tiring process of downloading, scanning, and uploading the documents just because they want to append their signature.

• Online forms

Save the cost of printing out paper forms with Formplus online forms. With an online rental agreement form, your rentees can append their signature remotely. 

You can share these forms with rentees via email through a personalized link. These online forms can also be filled offline if the rentee is in a place with a poor internet connection.

Conclusion 

When a formal relationship exists between two parties, it is important that any business activities that transpire between them should be legalized. This legalization is done in the form of a written contract, and the relationship between a landlord and a tenant is no different. 

A rental agreement form helps to lay out potential problems that may occur between the landlord and the tenant, while also laying out regulations to prevent these problems from occurring. 

On the other hand, a spoken or verbal agreement does not hold water in the court of law. This will outright be dismissed by the judge, which is why a written contract is needed to affirm verbal claims and serve as evidence.