When clients hire lawyers to draft lease agreements, they tell lawyers the terms they want included in the agreement. Some of these terms are standard lease terms, and others may be custom terms, but a priority for the client.
At ContractsCounsel, we analyzed thousands of lease agreement drafting requests and pulled out the most requested lease terms clients want included in their lease agreements. This guide will help you know what is commonly requested and what you should consider when getting a lease drafted.
Note: This real data comes from thousands of anonymized postings on ContractsCounsel.
1. Smoking and Pet Restrictions
Adding “no smoking” and “no pets” clauses are the most frequently requested terms by clients. Even if these are standard terms in leases, clients go out of their way to request them to make sure these rules are clear and included.
2. Security Deposit Rules
Clients prioritize addressing terms related to security deposits. This includes how they are handled, their amount, permitted uses, and refund conditions and timeframes.
Security deposit clauses are standard in leases, but clients requesting this work make it a point to address all aspects of the terms.
3. Maintenance and Repair Responsibilities
Given a common concern of tenants is who pays for maintenance and repairs, clients who request to get leases drafted often request specific terms. Clients will ask lawyers to spell out landlord vs. tenant responsibilities.
The most common position clients want is for ‘tenants to handle small repairs’ and ‘landlords take care of major repairs’.
4. Unauthorized Alterations, Noise, and Hazardous Materials
Another major priority of clients is to make sure there are no unauthorized alterations, no excessive noise, and no storage of hazardous material. These terms are standard lease terms, but clients also make it a point that they want these terms included when drafting.
5. Rent Adjustments and Renewal Options
Rent increases and terms related to renewals are often addressed by clients, providing lawyers with specific terms they want included. Clients want to make sure they have the option to increase rent and also establish clear terms around lease renewals.
6. Use, Occupancy, and Subleasing Rules
Clients want the lease to clearly define how the property can and cannot be used, how many people are allowed to occupy the space, and address the tenant’s ability to sublease. For subleasing, clients typically want landlord approval at a baseline to sublease.
7. Liability Terms
Clients want terms in their lease agreement to outline who is responsible for damages that may occur to the property caused by the tenants. They want to make sure these terms are crystal clear in case something happens.
Why This Matters
Even if some of these terms are part of a standard lease, clients do not take them for granted.
Our project data shows clients frequently request these terms be included in their lease and provide specific language around each of them for the lawyers to include.
Clients think these terms are essential, so make sure you review them and see if they are also terms you want included in your lease agreement.
Get Help With Your Lease Agreement
If you need help with a lease agreement, post a job on ContractsCounsel to get quotes from lawyers. All lawyers are vetted by our team and will provide competitive proposals to help you with your project.
