Lease Agreement Template PDF

Yes — a written lease signed by both parties is binding under common-law contract doctrine in all 50 states + DC, with no lawyer required for either residential or commercial tenancies. State landlord-tenant statutes govern disputes (the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act is enacted in 21 states; the rest use their own codes — CA Civ Code §1940 et seq., NY RPL §220 et seq., TX Property Code Ch. 92, FL Stat. §83). Statute of Frauds requires a writing for any lease longer than 1 year (UK equivalent: Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 s.2 for tenancies over 3 years). Our templates are drafted from each state's statute, reviewed by US-licensed attorneys, and the embedded ESIGN Act 15 USC §7001 audit trail meets Federal Rules of Evidence 902(13) self-authentication — they hold up in housing court without needing the landlord to testify to the signature. Compare: LegalZoom charges $35/lease + a $39.99/mo Legal Plan upsell to actually have an attorney review (vs $0 with our attorney-reviewed library), Rocket Lawyer locks attorney review behind a $39.99/mo membership, US Legal Forms sells single-state packs at $39.95, and Docusign's "Lease Agreement" template is just a blank PDF wrapper around their $15/mo eSign — none auto-inject the URLTA/state-statute clauses or the lead-paint disclosure.

No. Only Ohio requires notarization for leases over 3 years (Ohio Rev. Code § 5301.01). All other states accept signatures without notarization. Our PDF is e-Sign Act compliant — that is enough for court.

Caps vary widely by state and you cannot legally collect more than your jurisdiction allows — the wizard auto-enforces the right ceiling. New York (NY GOL §7-103, Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act 2019): 1 month maximum, must be held in an interest-bearing account at a NY bank, interest paid annually to tenant. California (CA Civ Code §1950.5, post-AB-12 effective 7/1/2024): 1 month for both furnished and unfurnished — the old 2x/3x rule was repealed. Massachusetts (M.G.L. c. 186 §15B): 1 month security + last month’s rent + interest at 5% or actual rate. New Jersey (N.J.S.A. §46:8-19): 1.5 months. Connecticut (CGS §47a-21): 2 months for tenants under 62, 1 month for seniors. Hawaii (HRS §521-44): 1 month. Texas (no statutory cap, but Property Code §92.103-92.110 governs return). Florida (no statutory cap, but Fla. Stat. §83.49 requires segregated account or surety bond). Return deadline timer also varies — 14 days (NJ), 21 days (CA, NY, TX upon proper request), 30 days (FL, IL, MA), 45 days (NM) — and the wizard emails you the deadline at move-out so you don’t face the 2x-to-3x statutory penalty for late return.

For any rental built BEFORE 1978 (40 CFR 745.107). The landlord must give the EPA pamphlet "Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home" + a signed disclosure form. We auto-attach both when you select a pre-1978 build year. Penalty for omission: up to $19,507 per violation (2024 EPA cap).

Residential = the tenant lives in the unit (apartment, house, room, condo). Commercial = the tenant runs a business (office, retail, warehouse, restaurant). Commercial leases are NOT covered by URLTA — they need NNN/Gross/CAM clauses, personal guarantees, and zoning warranties. Pick the right type at step 1.

Yes — pick "Month-to-Month" at step 1. Either party can terminate with proper notice (typically 30 days, 60 in CA for tenants of 1+ year). The template auto-inserts your state’s required notice period.

Both parties click "Sign", draw or type their name, confirm via email. The signed PDF embeds an audit trail (IP, timestamp, device, geo) under the Federal E-SIGN Act (15 USC §7001) + your state’s UETA. Admissible in housing court in all 50 states.

Free forever with a watermark and 0 AI Deep Detect, no credit card. To remove the watermark: $8.99/mo Start for 8 AI Deep Detect/month, all 50 states + DC, AB-12 + HSTPA + every 2024-2026 statutory update pushed automatically, e-signature vault, FRE 902(13) audit trail with 7-year archival, and the optional remote online notary partner at $25/sale (RON valid in 44 states). Side-by-side 2026 US market: LegalZoom charges $35-$50 per single lease + $39.99/mo Legal Plan ($479.88/yr) to actually have an attorney review the document; Rocket Lawyer locks lease + attorney behind $39.99/mo membership ($479.88/yr); US Legal Forms sells single-state lease packs at $39.95 (no AI fill, no e-sign, no audit trail); NOLO Quicken WillMaker bundles a generic lease in a $99/yr suite (last AB-12 update tracked Q3 2024); Trust & Will is $159/yr for the estate suite with zero lease module; eForms publishes 15 free PDF blanks but charges $39.95/yr for editable Word + state overrides; Docusign $15/mo Personal e-signs but ships a literal blank lease wrapper with no jurisdictional intelligence; Adobe Acrobat Pro $19.99/mo fills any blank PDF with zero state-clause logic. Net: a typical landlord drafting 4 leases a year saves $260 to $480 vs the cheapest paid alternative and gets the only stack with combined AI fill + 50-state library + ESIGN/UETA + eIDAS bridge + EU AES-256 hosting on the free tier.