What Is a Residential Lease Agreement?
Residential lease agreements are legally binding contracts between a landlord and a tenant, detailing the terms and conditions of a residential property’s occupation. These agreements are generally for 1 year, though some last longer or are month-to-month agreements.
Tennessee law does not require residential landlords to provide lease agreements for their rental houses and properties, but it is always recommended that they do so. In fact, such agreements are essential to keeping the peace among landlords and tenants, since they help avoid disputes, misunderstandings and even sometimes violent confrontations from occurring .
Helping to avoid such disputes should be a primary goal for any landlord, especially those renting properties in a state like Tennessee where the law only steps in to prevent landlord and tenant disputes occasionally. A lease agreement places the responsibility on the tenant to educate themselves on their duties as a tenant. It ensures the landlord knows if rent, maintenance, or eviction concerns do arise, they will have an equally legally binding document to lean back on to help resolve the situation.
Fundamental Terms Found in a Tennessee Lease
Tennessee residential lease agreements cover several key components. First, there is the amount of time for which the tenant is granted the right to occupy the premises at the start of the lease. Tennessee is a state that favors non-fixed lease periods, meaning there are month-to-month leases as well. For example, if the tenant pays rent either weekly, monthly, or annually, the lease is month-to-month. If the money is paid at a specified interval other than weekly, monthly, or yearly, the lease is considered fixed-term.
Then there is the rent amount. The cost of rent is generally described in the lease as a monthly obligation, but in the case of small rental units for students (such as dorms), it can also be on a weekly basis. Details as to when the rent must be received by the landlord should also be provided.
Tennessee law allows a security deposit to be charged to a tenant, but it must not surpass the monthly rent. It must also be stated in the lease where the security deposit will be held, whether in a separate bank account or a commingled bank account. All money belonging to the tenant must be returned to him in full (less any lawful deductions) within 30 days of the end of the tenancy.
Tennessee residential lease agreements must also clear up maintenance responsibilities. If a tenant is allowed to do their own maintenance, a landlord can be held liable for damages if the tenants fail to abide by the terms and an injury to a third party results from their negligence.
Tenant Rights and Landlord Obligations
The Tennessee Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act outlines the basic rights of the tenant and the responsibilities of the landlord in a Tennessee residential lease agreement. These rights and responsibilities are automatically applied by law to every lease. They cannot be waived by the parties to the lease.
Tenant Rights
Under the Act, the tenant has the right to:
Landlord Responsibilities
Under the Act, the landlord has a duty to:
Enforcement
If the landlord fails to comply with his responsibilities as set out in the Act, the tenant has a remedy. The tenant may choose between:
Additional remedies may also be available to the tenant depending on the lease agreement. For example, if the landlord or his employees intentionally remove the tenant’s personal property or unreasonably deny the tenant entry to the premises, the tenant may sue for actual damages in addition to the remedies provided above.
It is important to keep in mind that the remedies provided by the Act are not the only remedies available to the tenant. The lease agreement may provide for other remedies including attorney fees in the event the landlord fails to fulfill his responsibilities under the Act.
Typical Provisions Included in Tennessee Leases
Rental property management in Nashville and other Tennessee cities is governed by the terms of the Residential Lease Agreement. Many, if not most, Tennessee leases are very similar in terms of what are referred to as "common clauses," provisions that are standard in most leases. However, we can also find areas in any lease that are unique to the particular agreement under review.
As mentioned above, there are many clauses found in most Tennessee residential leases. A common clause that we see in just about every residential rental agreement is the late payment provision, typically requiring that rent be paid by a date certain each month or late fees will be assessed. Often, those late payments will have an extended timeframe in which they need to be paid after the late payment period has passed. For example, if rent is due on the 1st of the month, a late fee may kick in on the 5th of the month and additional late fees could accrue on the 11th of the month. Since most Tennesee residential leases are month-to-month agreements, this could mean that an individual may pay his or her rent late for months and then suddenly the late payments become denied and a landlord could move to begin eviction proceedings.
One must be careful when citing these late payment provisions, however. Tennessee landlords must follow the requirements set forth in Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-201 et seq., known as the Tennessee Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Chapter 7). In Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-201 (j), it states that it is the tenant who must agree to the terms of the lease or rental agreement in order for any penalties or fees to be imposed. "(1) A lease provision modifying the terms of this part and establishing a rental in violation of the provisions of § 66-28-201(a)(1) is enforceable against the tenant only if the lessee agreed to such provisions (emphasis added)." If a tenant has not agreed to the late payment provision, he or she can avoid the assessment of any late fees.
The pet provision is another area in which we will often see a common clause in the lease for tenants with pets. In many cases, we will see tenants charge a pet deposit, a pet fee, or ask the tenant to pay a higher security deposit in order to offset any future damages caused to the property by the tenant’s pet. This is one area of a lease where we have seen vastly different language. Some leases will say that the pet is to be cared for outside only, while others will say that the pet is to be cared for indoors. Other clauses will address the size, age and/or number of pets. Some leases will even require the tenant to take the pet into consideration when purchasing renters insurance and will ask for the name of the pet while also reserving the right for the landlord to inspect any pet the tenant has at the time of the signing of the lease agreement. This inspection will often come in the form of the apartment manager going into the apartment and inspecting the pet as well as any damage it may have caused to the property.
Renewal terms, or confirmation that the tenancy is month-to-month, is another common clause we see. This term usually states that the tenancy shall be automatically renewed on the same terms and conditions following the expiration of the lease absent notice from the landlord or the tenant. Very important to both parties, we usually see a provision stating that there is no oral modification of the lease agreement allowed and that any notice must be in writing and signed by the landlord or the tenant.
One final clause that is often used is prohibiting the subletting of the apartment and any assignment of the lease. A common exception to this clause is the marriage of the male tenant to the female tenant.
Some of these clauses are obviously negotiable, but most are not. All of these clauses are discussed in much more detail in our book, The Landlord Survival Guide, a guide to property management in Nashville and the entire state of Tennessee.
How to Draft a Tennessee Lease Agreement
The drafting of a residential lease agreement is generally a multistep process. The landlord initially completes a residential lease within the framework provided by the state. This framework includes statutes pertaining to residential leases, statewide rental agreements, disclosures, rental procedures, install base rent control and security deposits and Lead-based paint under the Residential Lead-based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 for residential units constructed before 1978.
During this process, the parties may also make negotiations with respect to the proposed terms of the residential lease agreement. These negotiations sometimes extend not only as to the price of the lease, but also as to the manner in which rent increases will be addressed each year. For instance, the landlord may seek to automatically increase the rent by 3% each year. On the other hand , the tenant may expect the rent increase to be in accordance with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. After the negotiation of terms and drafting of the residential lease agreement, the residential lease between the landlord and tenant must be approved by both parties prior to being entered into force.
Importantly, however, when a template residential lease agreement is created for a standard and common rental situation, there are many provisions that must be included. As discussed, these provisions include those relating to established statewide rules, such as those pertaining to rent control, security deposits, and the like, as well as those provisions concerning more basic areas of residential leases such as the rights of tenants, the responsibilities of landlords, fees, default, intoxication, wasting of utilities, assignment and subletting, improvements made by the tenant before the rental agreement ends, additional fees, and the like.
How to Terminate a Lease in Tennessee
In instances where the landlord is not properly maintaining the rental property, a tenant in Tennessee can legally break an agreement. When this happens, landlords usually blame the tenant, because the tenant is legally breaking the agreement. However, it is important for landlords to know that in some cases, they may have broken the agreement, leaving the tenant in a justified position.
In Tennessee, a tenant has the right to break a lease as long as they give the proper notice. For example, if the rental property is not habitable, the tenant may be able to legally break the lease. This means the property is unreasonably unsafe or unsanitary, and has a substantial number of health violations. Another example is the landlord may have breached the rental contract as well, which also gives the tenant the right to break free from the agreement.
The amount of notice that the tenant must provide depends on the situation. If the tenant has paid their rent and is not breaking their lease due to unhygienic living conditions, then they must give a full 30-day written notice. If they are breaking the lease due to unhygienic living conditions, they must give 7 days and written notice to the landlord of their plan to vacate the premises.
If the lease agreement ends due to the tenant breaking it, the landlord will have the right to pursue legal action against the tenant. The court may issue a judgment for damages or additional amounts that are owed on the agreement, or the landlord may be awarded possession of the property. The landlord may also be entitled to unpaid rent that is owed.
In summary, there are legal grounds for breaking a lease agreement in Tennessee.
FAQs
Q: Can Tennessee residential lease agreements be altered?
A: Yes. Tenn. Code Ann. 66-28-101 through 66-28-606 governs residential leases in the state of Tennessee and do allow modifications to the terms with exceptions. The condition of the apartment may not be altered without the consent of the tenant, such as the removal of a working toilet. Rental agreement terms may not alter the tenant’s rights to possession, right to essential utilities, maintenance of premises in habitable condition, right to privacy and peaceful enjoyment, right to notice, nor the landlord’s duty to mitigate damages upon lease termination. See Tenn. Code Ann . § 66-28-201 (2009);
Q: How does a landlord evict a tenant?
A: Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-512 (2012) explains that if at least fifteen (15) days’ notice is given to the tenant and the rental agreement has not been fulfilled, the landlord may file a suit for ejection against the tenant. The ejection suit must be served by the local sheriff or deputy sheriff. The sheriff will schedule a hearing within ten (10) days and a judgment shall be entered within five (5) days after the hearing. If the tenant fails to vacate the property by the date provided in the order, a warrant may be issued and the sheriff or deputy shall have the duty to remove the tenant from the property.