FormBarn

Property

Lease term

Landlord

Tenant(s)

Tenant 1

Notices to tenant

Occupants

Furnishings

Appliances

Rent

Payment methods

Security deposit

Early move-in

Prepaid rent

Late fee

NSF fee

Parking

Utilities & services

Pets

Move-in inspection

Smoking

Renter's insurance

Subletting

Authorized individual

Lead-based paint

Co-signer

Additional terms

What is a residential lease agreement?

A residential lease agreement is the contract between a landlord and a tenant for a home, apartment, or room. It sets the terms both sides are agreeing to live by: how much rent is due and when, how long the tenancy lasts, who holds the security deposit and under what conditions it comes back, whether pets are allowed, who pays which utilities, and how much notice each side must give. Once signed, it is a binding contract — which is exactly why a clear, complete, written lease protects both parties far better than a handshake or a one-paragraph note.

A good lease prevents disputes rather than winning them. Most landlord–tenant conflicts trace back to something the agreement never addressed: a late-fee amount that was never stated, a guest who became a roommate, a deposit deduction the tenant never saw coming. The builder above walks through each of those clauses in plain English so nothing important is left unsaid.

Fixed-term or month-to-month?

The builder creates both kinds of tenancy — switch between them with a single toggle, and the document retitles and rewrites itself accordingly.

  • A fixed-term lease (commonly one year) locks in the rent and the tenancy for a set period. Neither side can walk away early without consequences, which gives the tenant price stability and the landlord a predictable occupancy.
  • A month-to-month rental agreement renews automatically each month until either party gives written notice — typically 30 days, though several states set their own notice periods. It trades stability for flexibility, and it's the usual choice for rooms, short stays, and tenancies continuing after a lease expires.

What the lease covers

The generated document is a complete, conventionally structured agreement — the same numbered-section format property managers and courts are used to reading. Depending on your answers it includes:

  • Rent amount, due date, grace period, and late fees — plus prorated rent for a mid-month move-in
  • Security deposit amount and the conditions for its return
  • Occupants, multiple tenants, and co-signers/guarantors
  • Pet terms, including pet deposits or pet rent
  • Utilities and services, split between landlord and tenant
  • Parking, smoking policy, and property-specific rules
  • Landlord entry notice, maintenance responsibilities, and default terms
  • The federal lead-based paint disclosure for homes built before 1978, generated as its own attachment

State rules matter for leases

Landlord–tenant law is state law. Security-deposit caps, how fast a deposit must be returned, required disclosures, and month-to-month notice periods all differ from state to state. Each state page summarizes the local rules and opens the builder ready to go:

Pages for all 50 states and Washington D.C. are linked from the homepage directory. Your draft saves automatically in your browser while you work, and the finished PDF downloads free — no signup, no watermark.