Lease agreements are contracts that outline the relationship between landlords and tenants. They include essential terms, such as how the property can be used and for how long. It’s important that they’re clear and fair, as they strive to define both parties’ rights and duties so that the relationship can run smoothly.
If either party doesn’t agree with the terms included in the contract, this can cause misunderstandings and arguments. Dealing with disputes can be emotionally taxing and expensive, so you want to know how to navigate them without heading to court.
In this article, we feature what causes lease disputes, the differences between residential and commercial disputes, how to deal with a dispute, and when to seek legal guidance.
What are Common Types of Lease Disputes?
Lease disputes can arise from various issues. We’ve found that the most common ones include:
- Nonpayment or late payments
- Noise
- Property damage
- Pest problems
- Missing or confusing lease agreement terms
- Unauthorized access to the property
- Ending a lease
What are Differences Between Residential and Commercial Lease Disputes?
Residential Lease Disputes
When there are disputes involving residential properties, such as houses or apartments, these involve homeowners or tenants and landlords. Residential lease contracts are regulated by residential tenancy laws.
Disputes that arise tend to involve issues such as evictions and payments. To resolve them, it’s common for housing authorities or courts to provide assistance.
Commercial Lease Disputes
Commercial properties include stores, industrial sites, and offices. Disputes involve businesses and partnerships, and they can be more challenging because commercial leases usually involve more complex agreements than residential ones.
Common commercial disputes involve property use and contract breaches. Since these disputes can be more complicated, they’re usually resolved via arbitration or litigation.
How Can You Prevent Lease Disputes?
You can avoid being dragged into lease disputes by ensuring that your rental lease is clear, fair, and easy to understand for both parties. The agreement should provide clarity about issues such as payment due dates, late fees, and rules pertaining to the property (such as if the tenant is allowed to have people over or own pets).
You should also include clauses in the contract that define dispute-resolution processes, such as choosing mediation or arbitration instead of going to court.
It’s worth getting a legal review of your lease agreement by an experienced lawyer. This will give you peace of mind that all contract terms and clauses are free of confusion and everyone understands their rights and responsibilities.
Other important actions to take at the start of your lease agreement to prevent disputes include the following:
- Keep everything in writing. To prevent arguments in the future, keep screenshots of your text threads and save emails. You should also follow up after verbal agreements with emails or written notes.
- Express your concerns. Sometimes, lease disputes arise because minor issues are ignored until they become bigger problems. If you have a concern about something in the contract, express it to the other party as soon as possible.
What Should You Do When a Lease Dispute Occurs?
If you and your landlord or tenant are arguing about the lease, it’s important to act quickly so that you prevent escalation. Here’s what you should do immediately.
Read your lease
Go back to the agreement to carefully check all clauses related to the issue you’re dealing with, such as if it’s about payment schedules or deposits.
Write a timeline of events
If you’ve documented important information, such as photos of the property and email exchanges, you should gather these so that you have evidence to back you up. This also helps you to communicate professionally with the other party.
Keep conversation civil
When faced with a dispute, your goal should be to keep it polite and encourage communication. If the conversation gets heated, it can cause a greater misunderstanding or serious dispute. Give each other a chance to express your concerns and thoughts, and strive to resolve the issue together.
Seek legal advice
If, despite your communication efforts, you can’t reach an agreement, you should consult with a lawyer experienced in dealing with lease disputes. ContractsCounsel, an online legal platform that connects clients to vetted lawyers, can help you.
Here’s what a lawyer on the ContractsCounsel platform will do.
- They’ll help you interpret lease terms. This will clarify your, and the other party’s, rights and duties.
- They’ll review the agreement so that it’s in line with all applicable state laws.
- They’ll draft notices or demand letters.
- They’ll represent you if the dispute reaches mediation, arbitration, or court.
What are Legal Ways to Resolve Lease Disputes?
Lawyers can help you if you can’t resolve the dispute. They’ll write up informal or formal correspondence with the other party, including information such as a professional summary of the important facts, events, and circumstances related to the dispute.
If you don’t want to go to court because it’s time-consuming and expensive, there are other legal avenues to explore to help you resolve your lease dispute in a way that’s fair to both parties.
Mediation
Parties who can’t reach an agreement by themselves should consider having a mediator (such as an attorney) who can help parties by listening to their concerns and helping them reach an agreement.
The mediator is a neutral third party who listens to both parties and sees the bigger picture of the situation. Sometimes, it can help for both parties to have an outsider’s perspective on the issue.
Arbitration
This process involves an arbitrator who acts as a jury and judge. They will listen to both parties’ sides and then make a final decision. Many people prefer to have a private arbitration instead of going to court because it’s budget-friendly and less time-consuming.
Arbitration varies from mediation because the arbitrator decides who is right or has to remedy the dispute.
Pro tip: Some lease agreements contain dispute-resolution clauses that feature mediation or arbitration processes as the solution instead of more complex, legal processes. It’s good to consider these, or have them drafted by a lawyer, so that you safeguard yourself for future disputes.
Do you need a lawyer to help you with a lease dispute?
Post your request on the ContractsCounsel platform. Get connected to vetted lawyers experienced in drafting and reviewing lease agreements for clients.
