Even if it’s only for a short period of time, a lease requires a contract to be drafted

Even in the short term, leases of property or even vehicles require a contract. The lease agreement does more than simply track a transaction – it protects both lessor and lessee from actions against each other in the future. Don’t count on the period of the term to do that. Instead, opt to create an agreement regardless of time.

Why Are Short-Term Leases Required?

While it’s not adversarial, both the lessor and lessee of any lease agreement should come to the table with one key piece of knowledge in mind: the other party will want the contract to be drafted in such a manner as to maximize their own benefit. Just because a space or a vehicle is subject to a short-term lease doesn’t mean that clauses in the contract to be drafted cannot be negotiated. For example, if it’s an office space being rented, the lessee can negotiate having to pay by a term other than “per rentable square foot” because rentable area may also include portions of elevators or janitors closets that aren’t exactly prime real estate for workspaces, though they are necessary. In the case of short-term housing rentals, the landlord may award tenants with a certain credit profile the opportunity to lease month-to-month. In other cases, they might take adverse action notice – changing the terms of the lease to charge more money due to a credit rating – which is something the short-term lease should make plain.

What Should the Contract to be Drafted Include?

The contract to be drafted should include a number of important clauses, even if it’s for a short-term lease. The lease agreement should include what areas (or features, if it’s a vehicle lease) are covered by the lease terms and price. It should mention if the space requires a security deposit and what this amount is based on, as well as under what conditions it will be returned or not (such as final inspection or clean-on-close). The contract to be drafted should also include the applicable start and end date of the lease, whether the leaseholder may sub-lease and the conditions for that, what occurs if the lessee wishes to get out of the short-term lease and, most importantly, what it is that a lessor or landlord (in the case of housing) is responsible for. Individuals can always contact rental assistance if there is help required for dealing with a landlord’s lease agreement.

Short-term lease agreements can be one of the most important pieces of documentation, especially in the case of settling a dispute. Often, lessees think that simply creating a paper trail of offences by a landlord or lessor is enough. This may well prove the case but whether or not the behaviour is allowable or apprehensible all depends on this original set of terms.