IS MY LEASE LEGAL?
(Private and Public/Subsidized)
© 1991-2003 by Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc.
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        A lease is a written agreement between a tenant and a landlord. The lease agreement explains the tenant's rights and responsibilities, and the landlord's rights and responsibilities.

        The words used in a lease should have everyday meanings. Landlords must use leases that their tenants will be able to read and understand without difficulty.

        All written residential leases must be written in plain English and organized so that they are easy to follow.

        Yes. The print size in a lease should be large enough so that the lease can be read easily. A tenant should not have to use a magnifying glass or other instrument to read it. The print size must be no less than 8 points in depth. The box below contains a sample of 8 point print.

Landlord Agrees Not to Discriminate Based
Upon Race, Creed, National Origin, Sex,
Age, Handicap, Membership...

        If the print size in your lease is smaller than what is shown in the box, it is too small. This may mean that your landlord can not use this lease against you.

        No. The law says that certain rules or requirements included in a lease may be illegal (or non-enforceable), even if both the landlord and tenant signed the agreement. If something in a lease is illegal, the landlord cannot enforce that rule or requirement. The rest of the lease is still good and the landlord can enforce the other terms of the lease.

        The following is a list of unenforceable lease provisions:

• Provisions which prohibit a tenant from raising defenses in a legal proceeding.
• Provisions that require tenants to remain single or childless
• Provisions which require a tenant to deposit all rents alleged to be due with a court before asserting a defense
• Provisions that are unclear or confusing or are not written in plain language
• Provisions that limit occupancy to one person
• Excessive late fee provisions
• Provisions allowing landlord to take tenant's personal property if tenant fails to pay rent
• Provisions allowing landlord to collect attorney fees when tenant wins a legal action
• Provisions waiving tenant's rights to an apartment that is safe and liveable

        The following lease provisions have been held not to be unlawful:

• Provisions waiving a tenant's right to trial by jury
• Provisions providing that the landlord's acceptance of keys, re-renting or taking back the apartment are not considered a surrender of the lease

        Sometimes a lease says that only certain people, or a certain number of people, can live in the home. This may be illegal.

        A tenant may allow the following people to move into his/her apartment as long as the tenant continues to live in the apartment:

1. The tenant's immediate family.

2. One other person (an occupant), and the occupant's dependent children.

        For example, if you and your brother live in an apartment, you may let your friend and her two children move in, too. If your brother also signed the lease (as a co-tenant), he may allow his girlfriend and her children to move in as well. Your landlord cannot evict you for the extra people, as long as you are not violating any federal, state, or local laws or housing or building codes that regulate overcrowding. The tenant is required to give the landlord the names of any additional occupants.

        No. Sometimes a landlord will tell a tenant that he or she can take an apartment "as is," but that the tenant may not complain about any bad or dangerous conditions. This is not true. Every lease, written or oral, has a "warranty of habitability," whether it is written down or not. This "warranty" is a guarantee that the apartment does not have any dangerous or unhealthy conditions, and that it is safe to use as a home. This law gives tenants whose homes are in bad shape and unsafe the right to take action to force the landlord to make repairs.

        This depends. In a building with less than four apartments, a landlord can include a clause in the lease prohibiting the tenant from subletting.

        In a building with four or more apartments, the tenant has a right to sublet, under certain conditions. This is true even if the lease says that the tenant cannot sublet the apartment. The tenant must tell the landlord that he or she wants to sublet the apartment, and get the landlord's approval first.

        If the landlord refuses to approve the sublet without good reasons, the tenant may be able to challenge this in court. If the tenant does want to sublet the apartment, it is important to speak to a lawyer first, especially if the landlord says no.

        If you believe that there may be a problem with your lease, you should have it reviewed by a lawyer. The Housing Unit at Neighborhood Legal Services may be able to review your lease for you.

        Remember that even if there is an illegal clause in your lease, it only becomes important if your landlord tries to use it against you. For example, if your lease illegally restricts who can live in your apartment, as long as you are living alone and want to continue to live alone, there is no need for you to take action.

        Also, even when one part of your lease is unlawful, the rest of the lease is unaffected. That means that you must continue to pay rent and follow the lease requirements even if one part of it is illegal.

The best way to protect yourself is to closely read your lease before you sign it, together with any extra papers your landlord may want to attach to the lease. Make sure that the whole agreement is in the lease, and do not rely on oral, side agreements that you will not be able to prove or enforce.

        Because you live in public or subsidized ("Section 8") housing, federal law requires that your lease contain certain information. This list is long, so please review it carefully.

1. The name of the tenant and landlord ("landlord" includes public/subsidized housing agencies);

2. The address of the apartment;

3. Payments due under your lease;

4. Your rights and obligations as a tenant;

5. The landlord's obligations ("landlord" includes public/subsidized housing agencies);

6. Information about tenant or landlord maintenance at the premises, if applicable;

7. Information about any defects hazardous to life, health or safety at the premises;

8. Information about pre-occupancy and pre-termination inspections of the premises;

9. Information about when, why and how a landlord may enter the premises while you live there;

10. Information about how notices to and from the landlord must be served;

11. Information about how the lease can be ended by you or by your landlord;

12. Information about a grievance procedure or informal settlement process available to resolve disputes between you and your landlord before it goes to court; and

13. A signature clause, signed by all of the parties to the lease agreement.

        Yes:

1. Your prior consent to a lawsuit the landlord may bring against you concerning the lease and to a judgment in favor of the landlord;

2. Your agreement to allow the landlord to take your property and hold it until you do something your landlord believes you must do under the lease;

3. Your agreement not to sue the landlord for his/her acts or the acts of one of his/her employees or agents;

4. Your agreement that the landlord does not have to notify you if he/she takes you to court;

5. Your agreement that your landlord can evict you or hold or sell your possessions without notice to you and a judge's decision letting him/her do so;

6. Your agreement that the landlord's lawyer can appear in court for you and waive your right to a jury trial;

7. Your agreement that your lawyer may give up your right to appeal a case or to give up your right to file a court action to stop your eviction;

8. Your agreement to pay for your landlord's lawyer even if your landlord loses his/her case against you.

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