A lease is a binding contract, and the terms that matter most are often buried in dense paragraphs rather than the summary a landlord walks you through. Tenant law varies by state (and sometimes by city), so treat this as general guidance and check anything important against your own state’s rules. The diagram above shows where the key terms usually sit.
Step by Step
- Rent and due date — the amount, the day it’s due, any grace period and late fee, and how you’re supposed to pay.
- Lease term — the start and end dates, and whether the lease renews automatically (often as month-to-month, sometimes for another full year) if nobody gives notice.
- Security deposit — the amount, and exactly what you have to do to get it back. Look for wording that separates “damage” from “normal wear and tear”; normal wear usually can’t come out of your deposit.
- Who pays for what — which utilities are included in rent, and who handles repairs such as a broken appliance or pests.
- Guests, subletting and pets — limits on overnight guests, whether you can sublet (and with whose approval), and any pet rules or fees.
- Entry notice — how much notice the landlord must give before coming in for anything other than an emergency.
- Moving out — how much notice you must give before you leave, and how to give it (often in writing, 30 or 60 days ahead).
Warning: Everything a landlord promises out loud — a new fridge, a waived fee, a parking spot — should be written into the lease or confirmed by email before you sign. If it isn’t in writing, it’s hard to hold anyone to it.
Document the Unit When You Move In
Before you unpack, walk through every room and take dated photos or a video of anything already damaged: marks on the walls, stains on the carpet, chipped counters, anything that doesn’t work. Fill in the move-in checklist if the landlord gives you one, and keep a copy. When you move out, this is your proof that the damage was there before you.
Security Deposits
A deposit is usually refundable if you leave the unit in the condition the lease requires, minus normal wear and tear. How long the landlord has to return it, and what counts as damage, are set by state (sometimes city) law. USA.gov’s housing help page is a good starting point for finding your state’s tenant-rights resources.
If You Need to Leave Early
Whether you can, and what it costs, depends on the lease and your state’s law:
- Some leases include an early-termination clause with a set fee.
- Some allow subletting with the landlord’s approval.
- Some don’t mention it at all — which usually means you owe rent through the end of the term unless the landlord agrees otherwise.
Ask the landlord directly, and if the stakes are high, look up your state’s tenant protections before assuming you’re either stuck or free to walk away.
Common Mistakes
- Signing before reading the whole lease, including the fine print.
- Missing an automatic-renewal clause and getting locked into another year.
- Moving in without photographing existing damage.
- Relying on spoken promises instead of written ones.