Residential Leases – What is Missing from your Lease Agreement

What’s missing from the residential lease you drafted?

DIY Leases

As we near the end of the summer, the housing market is hot.  The rental market is even hotter.  Landlords are seizing opportunities to rent their property due to the shortage of rental units in our area.  We often see landlords and tenant entering into written leases that were either drafted by a non-lawyer or downloaded off of the internet (we often refer to these as the DIY (Do It Yourself) Lease). These leases are often missing key terms which make it very difficult for either party to enforce the terms of the lease.   NRS 118A.200 sets forth a number of provisions and clauses that must be contained in a residential lease agreement, otherwise, the lease is considered unlawful.  For example, one provision that is often omitted from a DIY lease is that a tenant has the right to display the flag of the United States. While this may seem obvious or unnecessary to include for some landlords, failure to do so violates NRS 118A.200.

Bear Box (Bear Proof Trash Container)

NRS Lease Provisions

Even if a lease includes the provisions as required by NRS 118A.200, many leases we see are contractually deficient and can expose the landlord to liability.  We often see leases that do not contain terms that related to local and property specific factors.  For example, in the Lake Tahoe area, securing trash in bear-proof containers is a great concern due to the wildlife that lives here.  Failure to properly secure trash can lead to severe fines against the property owner as well as bears being deemed a nuisance and subsequently euthanized.  Any lease in the Lake Tahoe area should include specific provisions relating to wildlife and trash so that it is clear that the tenant is responsible for securing trash and will be held accountable for the tenant’s failure to adequately do so.  This is just one of many location-specific examples in the Lake Tahoe area but it should be noted that almost every geographic location in Nevada and California has specific issues that should be addressed in the lease.

Having an attorney draft, or at least review, your lease is relatively inexpensive and is certainly less expensive than attempting to enforce an unlawful or invalid lease.  If you would like us to take a look at your lease or draft one for your rental property, do not hesitate to contact us.

Jeremy Krenek

Jeremy L. Krenek is an attorney at the Incline Law Group, LLP. Incline Law Group, LLP - Providing Legal Clarity for Over 40 Years. Incline Law Group, LLP, is committed to providing legal clarity. Our transparent approach to delivering legal services is designed to get beneath the surface of the matter in order to minimize surprises and maximize our clients’ outcomes. Founded in 1973 by John C. Rogers, Incline Law Group has earned a reputation for professionalism, discretion, honesty, diligence and positive results. Our attorneys are licensed in Nevada and California and have been providing legal clarity in the areas of Real Estate, Litigation, Family Law, Contracts, Business Formation and Estate Planning for over 40 years to our Northern Nevada and California communities. Licensed in both California and Nevada, Jeremy’s practice focuses on general business and real estate law, family law, litigation and sports law. A Texas native, Jeremy graduated with honors from Texas State University. After initially working in sales, Jeremy and his wife Kelli moved to Incline Village and spent a winter working at the Diamond Peak ski area as snowboard and ski instructors. Determined to become full-time residents, they both returned to school; Kelli attended nursing school while Jeremy entered Santa Clara University School of Law. During his final year of law school, Jeremy competed in multiple Honors Moot Court competitions with stellar results. Jeremy remains a dedicated snowboarder, and can be found most weekend winter mornings tearing up the slopes. In the summer, you'll find Jeremy on his mountain bike, four-wheeling in his Jeep or wake boarding on Lake Tahoe.

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