Often a rental agreement is called a lease, especially if your renting real estate or immovable property such as building. You may rent real estate to park vehicle(s), storage, office/business space, agricultural, institutional, or government use, and of course housing. Basically the rental agreement will state who, what, when, and how much.
As the tenant or lessee, you may be required to state who will be living with you, whether its a roomate, family, or others. Also, the rental agreement will have the landlord's or lessor's policy on pets. Your rental agreement will have the landlords policy on when the landlord may enter your home, usually for emergency purposes. As the renter you are in possesion of the property and If the landlord enters your home without proper notice or authority, he will be violating your rights and he would be trespassing.
Rented real property or real estate may include all or part of almost any piece of real property including land. Sometimes the rental agreement will include access to certain pools, bathrooms, laundry rooms, off-set parking, and other things if the premise is split up. If access to rooms is outlined they will define the times you are allowed to use them.
Did you know when you rent a room at a hotel for a night your signing a rental agreement? Chances are you`ve already signed one then, but sorry to dis-appoint you but long-term rental agreements are usually more in depth. Rental agreements could specify that your staying just days, weeks, months, or years. Typically a rental agreement is month to month or annually and usually the rent for annual leases are cheaper because you exclude the month to month turn-over costs. The downside of having a long-term lease is if you decide to leave early, usually you are charged with penalties. The good news is though the rental agreement can specify to automatically renew your lease so a month to month lease may be your best option.
If a tenant is unable to pay or does not follow policy, then landlord may ask you to "quit" (legal term for leave) the premises at your own will, and if the tenant refuses to do so, the landlord then will 99.9% of the time proceed to serve an eviction notice on you. In many states it is illegal for the landlord to change locks on doors, or remove any personal belongings, and extremely illegal to forcibly eject a person, without a court order of eviction. If the landlord violates any of the above contact your lawyer, you are entitled to compensation for "triple damages", plus expenses from your attorneys' fees. The landlord then could face stiff criminal penalties if you decided to press charges.
Finally your rental agreement will state how much you will be paying and on what bases, month to month, annually, aslong as you want, or even in advance. A typical "down payment" will consist of how much the first and last months rent would be and a security deposit. If you do not return your property in ordinary "wear n' tear" condition, the landlord can with-hold your security deposit to pay for the damages. If a security deposit is required, some states will require the landlord to give you the bank account number and the banks name of where your security deposit is being held. Some states also require the landlord to list pre-existing damages to the property, or the state will force them to give back the security deposit.
