How to Review a Lease Before You Sign
A lease is one of the few contracts most people sign without ever negotiating a single line, and it is still the document that decides what happens if a pipe leaks, if a job moves you out early, or if you simply want your deposit back. Here are the sixteen provisions worth reading first, plus what changes on a commercial lease.
A lease is usually presented as a finished document, printed by a landlord or a property manager who has used the same form hundreds of times. That does not mean every clause in it is fair, and it does not mean the terms are fixed either, particularly in a market where you have any leverage at all. The best time to catch a one-sided clause is before you sign, when asking a question costs nothing, not after you have moved in and the clause becomes the rule you live under.
This checklist covers sixteen provisions for a residential lease, roughly in the order a careful reader checks them, followed by a short section on how a commercial lease changes the picture. State and local law varies widely on several of these points, deposit limits, return deadlines, entry notice, and late fee caps among them, so this checklist tells you what to look for rather than asserting a single rule that holds everywhere.
1. Parties and the Premises Actually Described
Confirm the legal name of the landlord, which is not always the person you have been emailing, and the exact unit being leased, including the apartment or suite number and whether the description covers any additional space, a parking spot, a storage unit, or a shared amenity, that you were told was included. A lease that lists only the building address and not the specific unit has, on paper, leased you nothing in particular.
What a reasonable version looks like: the landlord’s full legal name, the exact unit description, and every additional space you were told comes with it, named specifically rather than assumed.
2. Term and Renewal Options
Confirm the exact start and end date of the lease term, and separately, whether you have any right to renew at the end of it, and on what terms. A lease that is silent on renewal simply ends on the stated date, and whether you get another lease at all is entirely up to the landlord at that point. A renewal option, if one exists, should state how much notice you need to give, and whether the rent for a renewal term is fixed in advance or left to be negotiated later.
What a reasonable version looks like: a clearly stated term, and if renewal matters to you, an explicit renewal option with its own notice period, rather than relying on an unstated assumption that the lease continues.
3. Rent, Due Date, and Grace Period
Confirm the monthly rent amount, the exact due date, and whether a grace period exists before a payment counts as late. Also confirm the late fee itself, since it may be a flat dollar amount, a percentage of rent, or a per-day charge that accumulates the longer a payment is outstanding. Late fee amounts are capped by law in a number of states and cities, and the cap varies, so check the actual figure in the lease against what applies where the unit is located rather than assuming any stated fee is automatically enforceable.
What a reasonable version looks like: a stated due date with a grace period of at least a few days, and a late fee that is a reasonable, defined amount rather than an open-ended or compounding charge.
4. Escalations and What Is Included in Rent
For a lease longer than one year, check whether rent increases during the term, and if so, by how much and on what schedule. Separately, confirm exactly what the stated rent includes: water, trash, parking, and any utility or amenity fee should each be named as included or billed separately, rather than left to be discovered on the first bill. A quoted rent figure that turns out to exclude several recurring charges is a common source of budgeting surprises after move-in.
What a reasonable version looks like: any rent escalation stated as a specific amount or formula rather than left open, and a complete, itemized list of what the stated rent does and does not include.
5. Security Deposit and How It Is Returned
Confirm the deposit amount, and check it against your state’s limit, since a number of states cap a residential security deposit at one or two months’ rent and some have no cap at all, so this is genuinely a look-it-up-for-your-state item rather than a universal rule. Separately, and just as important, confirm the process for getting it back: the deadline for the landlord to return it or provide an itemized list of deductions after you move out, which also varies by state, commonly falling somewhere between two and four weeks.
A lease that states the deposit amount but says nothing about the return process or deadline is leaning on whatever your state’s default law provides, which is worth knowing in advance rather than discovering during a dispute.
What a reasonable version looks like: a deposit amount consistent with your state’s limit if one applies, and a stated return deadline with an itemized-deduction requirement, checked against the deadline your state actually sets.
6. Maintenance and Repairs: Who Fixes What
A workable lease states, item by item, which repairs are the landlord’s responsibility, structural issues, major appliances, plumbing, heating and cooling, and which are yours, typically minor upkeep like replacing light bulbs or air filters. It should also state how you report a needed repair, and within what timeframe the landlord is expected to respond, particularly for anything affecting habitability, such as no heat or no working plumbing.
A lease that pushes an unusually long list of repair categories onto the tenant, especially major systems like the roof, foundation, or built-in appliances, shifts real cost onto you for problems that were not caused by anything you did.
What a reasonable version looks like: a specific division of repair responsibility, with major systems on the landlord’s side, and a stated response timeframe for repair requests, especially anything affecting habitability.
7. Entry and Notice Requirements
Confirm how much advance notice the landlord must give before entering the unit for a non-emergency reason, such as a routine inspection or a repair, and what counts as an emergency exception to that notice. Most states require some form of advance notice, commonly twenty-four to forty-eight hours, though the exact figure and the details of what counts as reasonable notice vary by state, so check the specific number against local law rather than assuming the lease states the legal minimum correctly.
What a reasonable version looks like: a stated notice period for non-emergency entry that matches or exceeds what your state requires, and a narrow, genuine emergency exception rather than a broad one that swallows the rule.
8. Subletting and Assignment
Confirm whether you are allowed to sublet the unit or assign the lease to someone else if your plans change, a job relocation or a roommate situation shifting partway through the term, and if so, whether the landlord’s consent is required and on what basis it can be withheld. A lease that flatly bars subletting removes an option that can otherwise let you exit a long-term lease early without breaking it outright.
What a reasonable version looks like: a subletting or assignment right that requires the landlord’s consent but states that consent will not be unreasonably withheld, rather than an outright prohibition.
9. Early Termination and Break Fees
Life changes over the course of a one or two year lease more often than a lease form accounts for. Check whether the lease includes an early termination clause, a defined process and fee, commonly one to two months’ rent, that lets you end the lease before the term is up, and compare that fee against simply being held liable for the full remaining rent, which is what applies by default if no early termination clause exists.
Some leases also require the landlord to make a reasonable effort to re-rent the unit rather than collecting rent from you for months the unit sits vacant, sometimes called a duty to mitigate. Whether that duty applies, and how it is enforced, again depends on the state, so read this clause with your specific state’s rule in mind.
What a reasonable version looks like: a defined early termination option with a stated, reasonable fee, and either an explicit duty to mitigate or confirmation of what your state’s law already requires on that point.
10. Default and Cure Periods
Confirm what counts as a default under the lease beyond late rent, a noise complaint, an unauthorized pet, an unapproved subletter, and whether you get a cure period, a stated window to fix the problem, before the landlord can begin eviction proceedings. A lease that allows immediate termination for any violation, with no cure period at all, is considerably harsher than one that gives you a defined chance to correct a first-time issue.
What a reasonable version looks like: a specific list of what counts as a default, and a stated cure period for a curable violation before the landlord can move to terminate the lease.
11. Holdover
A holdover clause covers what happens if you stay past the lease’s end date without a signed renewal, whether by choice, oversight, or a delayed move. Many leases convert automatically to a month-to-month tenancy at that point, which is the more tenant-friendly version. Others impose a steep holdover penalty, sometimes 150 percent of the prior rent or more, for every day or month you remain, which can turn a short delay in moving out into a significant unplanned cost.
What a reasonable version looks like: a holdover clause that converts to a reasonable month-to-month arrangement, or a modest, clearly stated penalty rather than an open-ended multiplier on rent.
12. Rules and Addenda That Can Change Later
Many leases reference a separate set of building rules, house rules, or an addendum, covering things like pet policies, noise hours, or parking assignments, and state that the landlord may update those rules during the lease term. Read what limits, if any, apply to that power: whether updated rules require advance notice, whether they can materially change your rent or core rights, and whether unreasonable rules are enforceable at all. A lease that lets the landlord amend material terms unilaterally, with no notice requirement, is worth a specific question before you sign rather than an assumption that any future rule change will be minor.
What a reasonable version looks like: a stated notice requirement for any rule change, and a limit confirming that building rules cannot alter rent, term, or other core lease terms without your agreement.
13. Utilities
Confirm which utilities are your responsibility to set up and pay directly, electricity, gas, internet, and which, if any, are billed by the landlord as a flat fee or a submetered charge added to rent. A submetered or ratio-billed utility arrangement, where your share is calculated from the whole building’s usage rather than metered directly to your unit, is worth understanding in advance, since the monthly amount can vary and is harder to predict than a flat fee.
What a reasonable version looks like: a clear, itemized statement of which utilities you pay directly and which are billed by the landlord, with the billing method for any shared or submetered utility explained.
14. Insurance Requirements
Many leases now require the tenant to carry renters insurance for the term of the lease, commonly with a minimum liability coverage amount, and some require proof of coverage before move-in or at each renewal. This is standard in most markets and is a genuinely worthwhile protection for you as well as the landlord, but confirm the required coverage amount is reasonable and factor the cost, typically a modest amount, into your total housing budget.
What a reasonable version looks like: a renters insurance requirement with a reasonable minimum coverage amount, stated clearly enough that you can price it before signing.
15. Automatic Renewal Clauses
Some leases convert automatically to a new fixed term, sometimes at a higher rent, unless you give written notice by a specific deadline that you do not want to renew. The notice window for this kind of clause is often sixty or ninety days before the lease ends, well before most tenants start thinking about their next move, and missing it can lock you into another full year. A number of states require this type of automatic-renewal notice to be disclosed prominently or given to you directly by the landlord before it can take effect, so check whether the disclosure in front of you meets that bar.
What a reasonable version looks like: an automatic renewal clause, if one exists, with a clearly disclosed notice deadline you can actually track, or its absence entirely in favor of an explicit renewal conversation each term.
16. Guarantors and Co-Signers
If the lease requires a guarantor or co-signer, commonly for a first-time renter or a lower credit score, read exactly what that person is agreeing to: full liability for the entire lease term, including any renewal, or only for the initial term. A guarantor obligation that automatically extends through a renewal, without the guarantor’s separate agreement to that renewal, is a broader commitment than most guarantors realize they are making, and it is worth reading with the guarantor before either of you signs.
What a reasonable version looks like: a guarantor obligation scoped to the initial lease term, with any extension into a renewal period requiring the guarantor’s own separate consent.
How a Commercial Lease Differs
Everything above still applies to a commercial lease, premises, term, rent, maintenance, default, but a commercial lease adds several provisions that rarely appear in a residential one, and the balance of negotiating power is different too: a commercial lease is generally treated as a deal between two businesses, with far less consumer-protection law backing up either side, so more of the fairness of the document depends on what you actually negotiate.
Common area maintenance charges, usually called CAM charges, are the biggest addition. In addition to base rent, a commercial tenant typically pays a share of the building’s shared operating costs, landscaping, common-area utilities, property management, calculated as a percentage of the building tied to your unit’s square footage. Read whether CAM charges are capped year over year, and whether the lease lets you audit the landlord’s actual costs, since an uncapped, unauditable CAM clause can grow well beyond what a tenant reasonably expected at signing.
A use clause restricts what kind of business you can operate from the space, and a narrow one can block a future pivot, adding a second product line or a different service, that would otherwise be a routine business decision. Read the use clause for how narrowly it defines your permitted business, not just whether your current plan fits it.
A personal guaranty is common for a small or newer business, and it means the business owner is personally liable for the lease obligations if the business entity cannot pay, which puts personal assets at risk for what would otherwise be a business-only debt. Some leases offer a declining or capped guaranty, where personal liability decreases over the term or is limited to a set number of months’ rent, rather than an open-ended personal guaranty for the full term.
Finally, an exclusivity clause can protect you from the landlord leasing space in the same building to a direct competitor, valuable for a retail tenant relying on foot traffic, and a relocation clause can let the landlord move your business to a different space in the building or complex during the term, sometimes with minimal notice. Both are negotiated terms rather than standard ones, and both are worth raising explicitly if they are not already in the draft.
Most leases you are handed will pass this checklist with little or no change, because most landlords are using a standard form rather than writing something deliberately one-sided. The value of reading one item by item is catching the minority of clauses that genuinely need a question before you sign, and knowing which of the items above are governed by a specific state or local rule worth looking up rather than assuming.
BeforeJD includes a dedicated read for leases and other real estate agreements, checked clause by clause against a list very close to this one.
Before you sign your next lease, run it through BeforeJD and see exactly which of these items need your attention.
Questions people ask
- What should I check in a lease before signing it?
- Sixteen provisions decide whether a residential lease is ordinary or worth a question before you sign. Start with the parties and the exact premises described, the term and any renewal option, rent, its due date, and any escalation over the term, and what the stated rent does and does not include. After that, check the security deposit amount and return process, who is responsible for which repairs, entry and notice requirements, subletting and assignment rights, early termination and break fees, default and cure periods, holdover, whether building rules can change later, utilities, insurance requirements, automatic renewal notice deadlines, and any guarantor obligation. Several of these vary by state, so this checklist tells you what to look for rather than asserting one rule everywhere.
- How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit?
- It depends entirely on the state. A number of states cap a residential security deposit at one or two months’ rent, and some states have no cap at all, so check the specific limit where the unit is located rather than assuming a single national rule. Just as important as the amount is the return process: most states set a deadline, commonly somewhere between two and four weeks after move-out, for the landlord to return the deposit or provide an itemized list of deductions.
- How much notice does a landlord need to give before entering my unit?
- Most states require some form of advance notice for a non-emergency entry, commonly in the range of twenty-four to forty-eight hours, though the exact figure and what counts as a valid emergency exception vary by state. Check the notice period stated in the lease against what your state actually requires, since a lease can understate the legal minimum, and a genuine emergency, such as a burst pipe, is typically exempt from any notice requirement.
- What is an automatic renewal clause in a lease, and why does it matter?
- It is a clause that converts the lease into a new fixed term, sometimes at a higher rent, unless you give written notice by a specific deadline that you do not want to renew. That deadline is often sixty or ninety days before the lease ends, well before most tenants start planning their next move, and missing it can lock you into another full year. A number of states require this kind of clause to be disclosed prominently before it can take effect, so check whether the version in front of you meets that bar.
- How is a commercial lease different from a residential lease?
- A commercial lease adds provisions that rarely appear in a residential one and comes with far less consumer-protection law backing either side. Common area maintenance charges, a share of the building’s shared operating costs billed on top of base rent, are the biggest addition, and whether they are capped and auditable matters. A use clause restricts what kind of business you can run from the space, a personal guaranty can make a business owner personally liable for the lease, and exclusivity and relocation clauses, protecting you from a competitor in the same building or letting the landlord move your business within it, are negotiated rather than standard.