Go to Google and search on "free lease agreement template," and you'll get thousands of results. It's not hard at all to find a lease you can download and use for free. What is much harder is making sure first that all of the terms in it are legal in your state, and also that you've covered your interests adequately as a landlord.
Let's look at a dozen things you may or may not find in a free lease template, but make sure that you handle them according to your state's laws.
1.Rules violations that result in fees or penalty costs and how much: you don't want to try to fine a tenant or withhold money from a deposit for violating some rule unless you have their signature on a lease that clearly tells them what the rules and fines are.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4L8mrp1jmKE
8.Pet rules and fees: allowing pets will generally result in lower vacancy rates, but you need clear rules as to size, type, unwanted breeds (dogs), where they can be walked, cleaning up after them, etc. People dote on their pets, but you must make sure they're not treating them better than the landlord!
9.Abandonment and possessions: yes, sometimes a tenant will just disappear and never return, leaving personal items in the unit. Sometimes they just didn't want them anymore and are using you as their disposal person. However, your lease needs to be clear as to how long a unit can be unoccupied before you will consider it abandoned and personal belongings sold or donated.
10.Damages vs "wear and tear:" really be clear and detailed about this, as you'll be withholding deposit money to repair "damages," while normal wear and tear is considered just that; normal. Then create a detailed walk-through checklist with a move-in and a move-out check column. Do a careful walk-through with the tenant at move-in, take photos and get them to check satisfactory condition. Do it again on move-out and note and document damages with photos.
There are other items you may want or need in a lease, and some will be location specific, such as snow removal, etc. Get your lease blessed by an attorney for the best protection of your interests.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dean-graziosi/top-10-cya-items-in-a-tig_b_8332176.html
