How To Fill Out a Florida Residential Lease Agreement

The standard lease agreement Florida lessors and lessees (property owners and tenants, respectively) sign represents a binding legal contract. As such, it’s of the utmost importance that both landlords and tenants understand and abide by the provisions outlined in the lease agreement.

Filling out a lease agreement Florida property owners can use requires adherence to local and state laws. Equally, the standard lease agreement Florida tenants must read and sign needs to make sense and not drive potential tenants away. Here is how to fill out a Florida residential lease agreement.

What Should a Florida Lease Agreement Include?

For a residential lease agreement, Florida property owners need to make sure the terms adhere to the law. The property owner should also include all those things a potential tenant will probably ask about.

A lease agreement can include a little or a lot, but there are some key terms that all property owners should have outlined in their lease agreements:

• Lease term
• Space for all tenant names
• Space for the property owner’s name
• Terms for occupancy limits
• A pet policy
• Terms for early lease termination
• Rules for landlord entry and access
• Space for rental rates, security deposit amount, or other fees
• Maintenance expectations and responsibilities
• Notice about all required disclosures

Property owners can draft their own lease agreement, but it’s always a good idea to make sure a legal document covers all the necessary stipulations and legalese.

To that end, it’s best to start with a Florida lease agreement template. An up-to-date template will have all the terms and clauses to help a property owner draft a clean, clear, and legal lease agreement Florida tenants fill out and understand.

Other Types of Lease Agreements

The focus here is on residential leases, but many of the same rules apply for other types of leases. For a lease agreement, Florida property owners will need to make sure all the proper terms are in place.

The agreement can become far more complex for something like a commercial rental, but the property owner and potential lessee need to both understand the contract before and while filling it out and signing it.

What Does Filling Out a Florida Lease Agreement Entail?

Filling out a lease agreement should occur with both the property owner, or their representative, and the tenant present. A potential tenant should sit down with a property owner and go over the lease agreement, point by point, before filling it in.

For filling in a standard lease agreement Florida residents will typically go through the same process for a residential lease. The property owner will write in all the necessary information they left space for in the lease agreement.

If there’s a negotiation, the tenant will need a clean, unfilled copy of the lease to start with. From there, it’s only a matter of explaining the terms and filling in the appropriate information where necessary.

A few things to fill in will include:

• Names of all parties involved. This includes the lessor, lessee, and everyone who will live at the dwelling or spend large amounts of time there.
• The date when the lease starts and the date when the lease ends.
• Rent amount due each period and total amount expected over the course of the lease agreement.
• Security deposit amount.
• Total amount due.

The lease may call for the manual inclusion of other types of information as well. The property owner may have a pet policy with a box on the lease agreement to acknowledge if the tenant will have a pet or not.

In general, the property owner and tenant should fill out the entirety of the lease agreement, if possible. If there are terms that don’t apply, it’s a good idea to strike through them.

What If Something Is Missing or Isn’t Clear on a Florida Lease Agreement?

Clarification beforehand is an important aspect of filling out a lease agreement. Landlords should know exactly what their terms entail. Tenants should know exactly what the terms mean for them and others they may live with if any. This lends itself to the importance of fully going over the lease, asking questions, and making sure all parties fully understand what’s expected.

If something isn’t in the lease that either party believes should form part of the contract, then it’s possible to amend the lease in several ways. The property owner can rewrite parts of the lease to accommodate the missing information. Or, the property owner can add a rider to the lease.

Something like a Florida lease agreement template can have the flexibility to accommodate changes, even unique ones. However, it’s also possible to use a lease rider or addendum to add additional information or terms specific to a particular property.

Keep in mind that landlord-tenant laws vary by state. Before downloading a Florida lease agreement PDF, make sure it really does apply to Florida lease agreements. A generic approach can help start the process, but a state-specific approach will save on time and potential issues. Even better to find a professional Florida lease agreement service that allows for personalization.

In the end, filling out a Florida residential lease agreement doesn’t have to become a hassle or problem for either the property owner or the new tenant. If all parties take their time, think through the process, and fill in the right information. Since the standard lease agreement, Florida residents sign is a binding contract, it’s imperative to get the process right.

Previous post:
6 Reasons Veterans Make Great House Flippers

Next post:
Why Do We Need to Insure Our Condominium Unit