Essential Landlord Documents
After buying my first rental property I thought I was doing the prudent thing by going to my local office supply store and purchasing their “landlord” packet. Little did I know how many hours I was going to have to spend creating my own documents!
For starters, the formatting was terribly unprofessional, and it was clear they hadn’t been updated in 25 years. For example, their Application did not even ask for the tenant’s email address!
The Application was 6 pages long! Who in their right mind wants to complete a 6 page Rental Application, and what landlord wants to read a 6 page Application. Poor formatting and useless or unnecessary information being requested were the main culprits. It was totally unacceptable to me. Hence, the Landlord Bundle was born.
To make a long story short, I basically designed my own Application and Lease from multiple sources and included my own additions over the years as my experience grew. The Lease was a living document with details fine-tuned with each new tenant.
There is no substitute for real world experience, so there are no documents in any store to rival these. Make sure to review my specific Tenant Rules in Clause 22 of the Sample Lease.
There are a total of 16 files in the ZIP file bundle including a copy of the Free Deal Analyzer.
I use all these files for managing my rental properties and none others. This is a complete package of everything you will need.
The bundle includes Microsoft Excel, Word, and PDF files. The Rental Application, Lease, and all other Excel and Word files can be modified at your discretion.
Here is a list of the included files:
- Rental Application — this is where it all starts so it’s one of the most important documents. I streamlined and tweaked it to perfection. It is 2 pages neatly formatted, so if you have a 2-sided printer, it will fit nicely on the front and back of one page!
- Residential Real Estate Lease — I have added to, modified, and massaged this document throughout my landlording years, so the anal perfectionist in me is evident here (4 pages). Both “Blank” and “Sample” Leases are included.
- Lead Paint Safety Pamphlet — this is required to educate tenants on the hazards of lead-based paint (both English and Spanish versions).
- Lead Paint Disclosure Form — this is also required to disclose your knowledge or lack of knowledge regarding the presence of lead-based paint in the property (both English and Spanish versions).
- Smoke Detector Agreement
- Holding Deposit Agreement
- Move-In Inspection Checklist
- Property Details Sheet
- Security Deposit Return Itemization
- Security Deposit Return Letter
- Open House Sign-in Sheet
- Rent Receipts
Liability Disclaimer: the required content in any Lease or other document varies from state to state, city to city, and locality to locality. It is the responsibility of the user to consult a legal professional for any additions, deletions, or modifications that may be required for your specific area. Cash Flow Playground™ is not liable for improper use of any documents in the Landlord Bundle. See additional Disclaimer information here.