THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 16, 1996 TAG: 9603140223
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Landlords & Tenants
SOURCE: Greg McCracken
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
Nine times out of 10, my first response to any landlord-tenant question is, ``what does the lease say?'' The lease forms the basis of the landlord-tenant relationship and defines the rights and duties of the parties.
All terms are in the lease; any term not in the lease does not exist. A lease may be oral or written, but because I see very few oral leases my comments are about written leases. The following are general rules to keep in mind prior to entering into a lease:
Read the lease: Most leases are drafted by lawyers and have all that ``legal stuff'' in them. Contrary to popular belief, this is not to ensure only lawyers can read leases. The terms in the lease and the way they are expressed are there for a purpose.
Therefore, it is imperative to read, understand and know what is in a lease prior to signing it. Claiming, ``I didn't know that was in the lease'' is not an excuse for failing to do something you should have done or doing something you should not have.
Judges in the Tidewater area routinely remind people appearing before them that by signing a lease they represent they have read it, understand it and agree to its terms.
Understand the lease: Whether landlord or tenant, do not sign a lease until you understand its terms. If the terms are expressed in clear and unambiguous language claiming, ``I thought it meant something else,'' will not help you. A good dictionary will go a long way towards translating ``the legal stuff'' into plain English.
Make sure it is in the lease: The general rule is a lease contains all the terms the parties have agreed upon. The reasoning is that if people have taken the time to write down their agreement, the writing contains the entire agreement.
There are exceptions to this rule; however, the bottom line is if you want it in the lease, put it there. If it is not in the lease you will have a difficult, if not impossible, time convincing someone (a judge perhaps) that there were additional terms which were not written into the lease.
Do not be afraid to write on the lease: Leases, unlike the Ten Commandments, are not written in stone. Portions that are not agreed upon may by stricken. Likewise, portions of the lease that do not accurately reflect the agreement may be modified by handwritten changes or completely new provisions.
The important part is that this be done prior to the signing of the lease and all changes or modifications be initialed by the parties at the time the lease is signed.
If the changes or conditions are agree upon after the lease is signed, they should be reduced to writing in the form of an amendment that refers the original lease and sets forth the changes or modifications.
The amendment then must be signed by the parties and is binding on them along with the unmodified portions of the original lease.
Following these guidelines will not ensure you will never have a problem with a lease. However, if followed they will put you in a better position to deal with the unexpected and to protect yourself if a problem arises. MEMO: Greg McCracken is a Virginia Beach lawyer with expertise in residential
rental matters. Send questions to him at the Huff, Poole & Mahoney
Building, 4705 Columbus St., Virginia Beach, Va. 23462-6749. The fax
number is 552-6016; e-mail, hpmv(AT)livnet.com
by CNB