What to Look for When Signing a Lease

Before you sign a lease, here are some "Do's and Don'ts" to consider:

Do:

Read it. Understand the lease before you sign and make sure it states the following information:

Names and addresses

• your name (and those of your roommates, if you have them, with a place for each of you to sign)
• the name, address and telephone number of the landlord or building manager
• a description of the unit, house (or portion of the house) and a description of access to any adjoining areas (a balcony, porch or yard, for example)

Rent and lease terms

• the monthly rent and its due date
• the dates the lease begins and ends
• lease renewal rules
• subletting rules (this is important if you must sign a 12-month lease and want to sublet after the school year ends)
• rules for raising the rent (confirm these with your provincial rental board, tribunal or agency)

Deposit details

• what deposits are being made
• when, and under what conditions, a deposit will be returned and how much interest you will be paid
• (do your homework - confirm with your provincial rental board, tribunal or agency)

What the rent covers

• what utilities are included in the rent
• what appliances are included in the rent
• what specific parking space is included with the rent (ask to see it beforehand)
• the cost of parking if it isn't included in the rent

Maintenance and repairs

• your responsibilities for maintenance and conduct
• dates for promised repairs and improvements
• how and when you can terminate the lease and how much notice is required
• when the landlord or manager can enter (for repairs, for example) and with how much notice
• landlord's responsibility for maintenance and pest control

Other considerations

• whether you can add locks (especially if the locks are not deadbolts) if keys are provided to the landlord
• permission for any pets
• conditions for painting, hanging pictures and other decoration

Don't sign the lease:

• until all verbal agreements are stated in writing
• without seeing the actual unit; a sample may not be the same
• until you have visited the neighbourhood several times at day and night and on a weekend
• until you ask other tenants what it's like to live there (if there are no other tenants, ask neighbours how they like the neighbourhood)

Note: While it is common for landlords to require cheques for the first and last month's rent, many provinces prohibit them from requiring post-dated cheques for the year.

After you sign a lease

Do:

Keep a copy of your lease in a safe place with other important documents.

Don't:

Move in until you have taken photographs or made a videotape of the condition of every room, the entrances and any exterior real estate that you have the responsibility of maintaining (a porch swing, lawn or garden, for example).

The information in this article is general only; it is not intended as specific investment, financial, accounting, legal or tax advice for any individual.