If you are planning on becoming a landlord in the near future or if you have just signed a lease as a tenant, you should familiarize yourself with the Landlord Tenant Laws. The Act governing most states is the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. Although "URLTA" is used by thirteen states, the laws governing the Landlord Tenant Laws elsewhere in the country have similarities. In the follow article we will summarize the major points of the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act in order to get a better idea of what the Landlord Tenant codes are in the United States and what the relationship between Landlords and Tenants should be.
- What is the URLT Act? The URLT Act was formed in order to clarify landlord/tenant rights and responsibilities, to impress upon both the importance of creating and improving the quality of housing, and to define what the relationship between the landlord and tenant should be.
- Terms and conditions of the Lease Agreement. The lease, by law, dictates the amount of rent payable to the landlord, the time frame in which the rent is due (weekly, monthly, etc.), and any other terms that the landlord and/or tenant decide on. The landlord may choose to bar pets from the apartment, have an anti-smoking policy for his apartment, or may include the stipulation that the tenant pays the heat and hot water for the duration of the lease. The document is legally binding once both parties sign.
- Things that cannot go into a lease. The URLT protects the tenant in the event that the landlord tries to add a clause into the lease that prevents the tenant from the ability to sue the landlord. Any clause of this nature is unenforceable, even if the tenant signs the lease. Additionally, any clause contrary to the URLT (for instance, "Tenant does not need hot water.") will be considered unenforceable even if the tenant signs it.
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Author: Grace Bloodwell