Landlord Tenant Legal Advice for Lease Agreements & Negotiations

Every province has laws that address what landlord can and cannot do when it comes to financial terms. Do you know the laws in your province and does your lease comply?

If you offer multi-year leases, it’s important to address rental fee increases so you don’t get locked into a low payment over the long term. Also, some provinces prevent landlords from billing tenants for shared utilities, so you’ll want to make sure utilities, HOA fees and other financial items beyond the monthly rental fee are clearly articulated in your lease.

Rather than stress and guess, get a legal plan from LegalShield and have a provider lawyer help make sure you’re following the law.

There are a variety of issues beyond the rental rate and term that warrant specific treatment in your lease document to proactively avoid disputes and have adequate legal protection should you end up in front of a judge.

Many landlords are not aware that they can, for example, require tenants to maintain the lawn, use felt pads under their furniture to protect hardwood floors and require guests to remove their shoes. Adding key details is an important part of protecting your property. Here are a few other common areas you may want to address in your lease.

• Rules for roommates, guests and subletting the rental unit
• Neighborhood noise ordinances or other regulations
• Who is ultimately responsible for the rent if there are multiple “roommates” and one skips town?
• If the power goes out through no fault of the landlord, tenants can hold the landlord liable, unless you address it in the lease.
• What pets, if any, are allowed to reside in the rental unit

A LegalShield business legal plan provides landlords access to vital legal assistance at an affordable price.

Both landlords and tenants have certain rights and responsibilities under federal, provincial and local law. Having a good understanding of the laws that govern your rental relationship is an important part of creating an effective and enforceable lease.

• Does your advertising or lease agreement violate anti-discrimination laws?
• Are you required to provide accommodation to a disabled tenant?
• If you do have to modify your unit to accommodate a disabled tenant, who’s responsible for the cost?
• When are you allowed and not allowed to enter the property once a tenant is occupying it?

Some of the questions above are simply a matter of law. Some issues may require specific language in your lease agreement.

Whether you have a simple question about your lease, a complicated question about a specific law, or any other legal question related to your rental business, when you have a business legal plan from LegalShield, you can pick up the phone and get the legal advice you need without worrying about getting a huge legal bill at the end.

A lawyer may charge $150-$400 an hour for even basic advice. As such, most people don’t think of calling a lawyer when they have quick questions or need someone to look over a lease and provide feedback. That could be a mistake.

First, using a standard rental agreement downloaded from the internet without having a lawyer make sure it meets the legal requirements in your state can have significant legal and financial implications over the long term. Second, LegalShield makes getting day-to-day legal support to protect your real estate investments super easy and very affordable.

Our most popular legal plan for landlords is only $47.90 per month and allows you to have your lawyer review your lease (or any other documents up to 15 pages each) and get unlimited legal consultation on all aspects of your rental business. Furthermore, your provider lawyer is available to make calls and write letters on your behalf to help resolve a dispute with a tenant, contractor or any other third party.