r/LeaseLords

I am rewording this entirely as the last post seemed to not address my main concern.

My lease contract has expired and the apartment manager sent me an email stating I need to sign a new lease and only gave me 3 days to do it. Let’s say the email that they sent was a proper notice (which I don’t believe it is but that’s not what my main concern is right now). If it was properly given to me, is a 3 day deadline appropriate and legal here in Washington State? I definitely need more time for review. I have tried contacting the leasing office by email/phone and also the property manager. No answer.

What are my options here as far as requesting an appropriate timeframe for review of the new lease contract?

My landlord sent me an email stating I need to sign a new lease and only gave me 3 days to do it. They did not attach the lease terms/paperwork. They only mentioned the base rent and it being a 12 month lease. When I click the link they sent for paperwork, it requires me to sign a waiver consenting to electronic notices. However, I do not want to sign the waiver due to unanswered requests/concerns via email in the past, which for me causes uncertainty for digital communication. I was also told that the new lease term would start 10 days after they had sent the email, which does not even give me that 30 day window to review the lease.

I emailed them requesting either a pdf download or a physical copy of the lease. Is there anything else I could/should do at this time?

We have a townhouse for rent. Currently narrow down to 2 possible candidates. Rent is $2000 for the home.

(a) a single lady with excellent credit. full time working, income around $80k with one cat. Only met over zoom as she has not relocated here yet and is in the process of looking for housing. Not sure what it would be like when meeting in person.

(b) a young couple in mid-20s, wife with good credit ~660, husband at -630, he is honest of the mishap of credit at his early 20s. no kid, combined income $150k, both full time working, with one large dog Heeler 40lbs and one cat.

Any advice on how to make a choice? The couple in (b） looked lovely when meeting in person and seems really decent. Dog is said to be house trained and potty trained, anything else I may need to require them to show if I do want to go with (b)? Thanks for your insights!

Update: thank you all for the almost unanimous vote on (a), If I proceed the process with her, what other supporting documents I may require her to provide regarding the cat: proof of vaccination, and anything else that I may be missing here? Thanks! 😊

I've experienced both extremes now. One tenant would send updates about everything. Another tenant basically disappeared for an entire year except when rent was due.
Honestly, neither was perfect.
Too much communication feels like customer support and too little makes me wonder what's happening that I don't know about
Where is the balance even?

New tenant moved in earlier this year and just told me they want to leave. The reason isn't anything wrong with the property itself. They got a new job much farther away than expected and don't want the commute anymore.

I told them I'm happy to work with them and won't make things difficult, but finding a replacement isn't free. There are listing costs, screening costs, time spent doing showings, and all the usual stuff that comes with filling a vacancy. Their position is basically that since they're giving notice, they shouldn't have to pay anything else. My position is that I'm willing to help, but I don't think I should be the one covering all the costs created by their decision. moreover, it's stated in the agreement

Am I being unreasonable here?

They said their income timing changes month to month, so they wanted flexibility with payment dates.
Trying to decide whether that’s manageable or whether it turns into a headache later.

Recently, I was made aware of a licensing agreement that could be used for allowing people to stay in your space instead of them having a lease agreement. Any ideas about the pros and cons of this?

In 2019 I signed the lease on a one bedroom for $950. It was a dump. Worst looking porch and house one the block. On a block of little front yard city gardens we had an enormous wooden handmade trash can dumpster/barn container for the trash cans. The kitchen and bath had not been updated since the 50’s, 60’s. Cheap panorama on the walls throughout painted battleship grey. Cheap windows, the kind that trap moisture and dirt in between them so that they cannot be cleaned. Landlord special repairs and upgrades throughout. For the first year I cried. I hated it. But it didn’t last. I grew to love it. I’ve made it my own. My home. I convinced the landlord to dismantle the trash barn. He did. I planted a garden that is thriving, ferns, nasturtium, geraniums, lavender, oxalis, hostas, and more. I asked him if he would like to contribute $ to the garden. He declined. So did my building neighbors. I kept going. The front door to my apartment had been recently replaced. Unfinished. I asked him to paint it. He declined. I asked him to deduct the money I spent on paint for it. He declined. I bought an outdoor rug for the front porch, window boxes, found a cool modernist sculpture and dragged that home, put it in the garden. My neighbor in the house next door bought a wooden slatted partition to hide our trash cans and had it installed because she was tired of looking at our ugly trash cans.
I begged my landlord for one new trash can. We had only three for the five unit building and one of them had a one foot hole in the bottom. No lid. He declined. I mentioned it to my neighbor in the other house next door- complaining and apologizing about how bad our trash cans looked. My neighbor bought us 2 new trash cans!
I’m friends with all of my building neighbors we do things together. They helped me to garden and now they do contribute money to it. We look out for each other. We help each other , hiding packages for each other if we’re not around. We have each other’s keys, socialize and that’s all me. I invite them to decorate the outside of the house for Christmas and Halloween. I made that happen and I think it’s worth something.
I cleared the back yard myself and planted a cover crop to get rid of weeds and just got around to planting another garden there. I love this dump.

From 2024-2026 I underwent extensive dental reconstruction. It took a long time at a dental school- their student program. I had extractions done that left my smile looking like a jack-o-lantern. ( the timing was supposed to work out well because I did it when I was out of work but still has unemployment coming in. ) They said it’d be that way for a month. But it took until December 2025, 4 months (!!) before I got the upper bridge that gave me, I must say, a pretty nice looking smile! I didn’t, couldn’t start interviewing for jobs until January 2026.

In 2025 , when I lost my job, the shop I worked for closed (I loved that little shop!) and I collected unemployment and because I’m an artist, I began selling paintings and creating many different crafts and upcycled apparel and made greeting cards, sold them to shops, vended at local flea markets, generally hustled. I looked for jobs. I became late with the rent and began habitually paying it by the second Friday of each month.
The unemployment compensation ran out. I got worried, scared. I applied for many jobs- the kinds of jobs I used to always get, always get at least an interview for. Nothing. Lots of rejection. Began painting silly fake folk art paintings and selling them for $100 or whatever I could get. Appealing to the masses. I borrowed money from family. I tried to get those ai training jobs, tried to get work from home jobs because I couldn’t go to work with missing teeth.
I was getting pretty worried that I wasn’t able to take care of myself for the first time ever. I’ve always worked. I’m not married. No partner. No second income. Just me. But I’m not complaining about this. I love my independent lifestyle. Always have.
The landlord raised the rent $50 (10%) a month every single year. My income didn’t not increase. I complained once or twice appealed to his heart, but it didn’t work lol.
I made the decision to begin collecting my Social Security retirement benefits. I applied for them because I was turning 62 May. they would begin in July. All along this entire terribly taxing stressful scary year I have kept in touch with my Landlord telling him what was happening with me, telling him when I would be paying the rent late again(I have paid hundreds of dollars in late fees, like $700 in late fees)

One month ago I finally got a part-time job! I’m working and picking up extra shifts wherever I can. As soon as I knew, reached out to my landlord and I told him that I’m finally employed again and my retirement benefits start in July. (I had already told him this a few months ago ) And now this difficult year of paying the rent late is over. It’s not gonna happen anymore. Stability has returned blah blah blah. Thank you for bearing with me, apologies, etc.

For the first time in in a long time I started to see that there was light at the end of the tunnel. Now I wouldn’t have to hustle so hard and stress so much I feel like a burden to my family.
Relief, sweet, sweet relief.

Yesterday I got an email from my landlord stating that he’s not renewing my lease. He didn’t even give me a reason. I’ve lived here for six years. I’ve had Neighbors come and thank me for cleaning up the front yard for getting better looking trash bins. For organizing Block cleanup Neighbor for buying compost and spending time and energy rehabilitating the tree pits up and down the block because they’d all just been neglected for years and years. I’m not even angry yet. I just feel sad. Like a deflated balloon. I wish I could buy a little house so I don’t ever have to worry about this again. This is probably the longest thing I have ever written in my life. if you’re still reading, what should I do? My credit score is not great. you know by now I’m not sitting on bank rolls. I don’t live in New York City anymore so there are no tenant protection for my situation. If you were me, what would you do?

Not even asking in a rude way.
I’ve just had a few conversations recently that genuinely surprised me and now I’m curious what other people have dealt with.

Is 1400 per person for two bedroom with a roommate without washer/dryer and shared bathroom a good price? So like 2800 in total
And its on the forth floor without lift

Moving overseas to NYC and wanted to gauge the prices here

My friend and his wife have lived with me for five years. I have charged them $700 per month during this time. My monthly expenses including taxes, insurance, and utilities have increased by about $350. I'm considering a monthly increase of $80 to $120. Is this reasonable?

for context my mother passed away in april of this year and me my mother my step father and grandmother are all on this lease. my step dad is going behind my back and talking to my siblings and his sister trying to figure out ways to remove me from the lease and evict me from the property. this came out of nowhere and i’m not even sure if it’s possible. he hasn’t said a word to me about it but is speaking to everyone else about it. what do i do?

A simple move-in checklist that tells you what to photograph, lets you add notes, and creates a report you can send to your landlord.

Would this help protect a deposit, or are regular phone photos enough?

I'll be sitting on the couch watching TV and somehow end up thinking about a water heater that might need replacing next year. Or whether I should raise rent at renewal. Or whether that contractor ever sent the invoice.

It's not overwhelming, just constant. Like there's always a tab open in my brain that never fully closes.

I enjoy owning rentals overall, but I definitely underestimated how much mental bandwidth they take up.

Does that ever ease up?

Buckle up because this gets nuts. I really need an opinion on my new landlord. I cannot tell if this is going to be a bad thing in the long run or not. So I live on the West Coast, where the housing is insanely expensive. I have a job as a special education case manager, but I literally just started out of college. I needed a place where I could afford rent. In addition, I had another difficult task. I have been in a long-distance relationship with my boyfriend for several years now. He has been wanting to move from Georgia to the West Coast. He has two smaller dogs that he refuses to part with. Rentals here are not pet-friendly, and these dogs are 80% outside dogs, as one of them will pee here and there when she gets too excited, which they are used to being outside in a large kennel. My friend who works for the paper found me a person who was going to rent a studio for 900 a month with internet, water, and trash service included. I have to pay for my own power, but it's on my own meter. I came to look at the place, and it's a detached studio the man has built beside his garage, but far enough from his house that I feel comfortable. The landlord us super chill, 420-friendly guy. Kind of a right-wing redneck vibe, but chill overall. He tells me, with my sister standing there, that I can have any pets I want and doesn't require a deposit. I shake his hand as it's a good-sized studio that will actually accommodate both of us and has a backyard area in a country setting. He lives here with his elderly dad, who lives on the property not far from my studio, and his brother, who also lives on the property in an RV. Some broken-down RV stuff here and there, and cars, but not super junky. It is also gated, requiring people to have clickers to come in.

He required a first, last, and security deposit of 900 each, so 2,700 to move in. My sister and I found our first problem 2 weeks later when I moved in. The place was not cleaned. I'm not even a neat freak, but I had to scrub black dirt from the tub for hours. There was literally dirt all over everything, and funny enough, we found a bird's nest above the bathroom sink of all things. My sister told me to take pictures. I will give the landlord this: that he put a brand new AC in right off the bat, as he does contracting for a living. He did not have a contract, and I didn't feel comfortable with that, so I asked him if I could write one myself. He agreed, as I write paperwork for a living in my job. I wrote up a solid contract that protected both of us. He reviewed and signed it with me, and I had it notarized. He even complimented it and asked me if I could write another one if he ever needed it. He didn't want to sign an addendum with my boyfriend on it yet, as it would take him 2 more months to get over here from Georgia. He agreed to let him move in from the beginning. So I was nervous about having a landlord on the same property with me, but it has been semi-chill where he stays out of my hair.

My only weird thing is that he has made some mild flirtatious jokes about my older sister, who has been here, but I think it's just goofy overall. He drinks a lot and can be loud at times, but never late at night or anything. I noticed he comes off like he wants me to like party with him, and he invited me to the river once, but it was still too cold here for me. I try to remain neutral with him. He has admitted that he dabbles in drugs, and I've just told him that marijuana isn't a big thing to me, as we live in a positive 420-friendly state. He did offer me this mystery thing when I had a hangover once, though, and wouldn't explain to me what it was, which was weird, and I politely declined. I think he also joked about doing coke, but I guess not a big deal.

So the issues I've found are cracks on the windows and huge ones under the doors. I have lived in the woods most of my life, so big isn't new. I have never had such a bad pincherbug and spider infestation. I told him about this, and he just made jokes about it. I decided to get my own home defense big spray, but this didn't get rid of the problem, as I was still finding 20 of them at least a day after work and in the morning. Another issue was that he said in front of my sister and me that he would have " a brand new top-loading washer and dryer soon after I moved in. She even heard him say it. I was here almost 2 months, and I asked, and he finally brought 2 in, but this washer and dryer looked like ot was from maybe the early 2000's at best. I was a little miffed, but no big deal, as at least they worked. It was interesting how he installed a new AC unit within a week and then did this. He brought them and just left them on my porch for a few days without saying a word or hooking them up. I asked him, finally, calmly, and he responded with " well dont you think if the hookups were ready, I would have installed them?" I was confused as to why he put them on the porch in the first place. I just acted like it was no problem, as it wasn't huge( though I was tired of doing my laundry at my mom's house for almost 2 months). Out of nowhere in the convo, he says, "You want me to fix your car for you too, while I'm at it," in a snarky tone, and then he laughed. I was so confused and flustered, and just stayed calm and polite despite this. He and his brother installed the water and dryer on the front porch and then left all their tools in a huge mess on my front porch for over a week. I was literally afraid and felt meek, being the only woman on the property to say anything at this point, as ridiculous as that is.

Next issue, and I want to start by stating that I'm not a pit bull hater. My sister had a pit, and he's a sweet dog. This landlord has two unfixed female pit bulls that are basically free-roaming on the property. They go wherever they want, and I knew that from the start. They are very sweet and will walk up and love on you and want to be petted. They are about 7 months old and went into heat for the first time. Within a month, they started chewing up ceramic sculptures and small things I left anywhere on my porch. When I told the landlord calmly, he just made jokes about how they would learn a lesson about eating gross stuff and laughed it off. He also had a cat that had kittens, and I walked outside one day to one of the pit bulls just throwing the kitten around like a rag doll with its teeth about to kill it outside my porch. I heard it screaming from the apartment and came running out. I saved it. I saw them doing this with a mole once, too, but it was a rodent, I guess, and still sad. I told him about this too, and he just laughed that off and said he kind of hopes they just kill the cats, as he only wants to keep the mom cat. It's not my business, but I have never seen him discipline his dogs other than throwing a wrench at them one time as hard as he could. I had a husky that I trained not to kill birds for good reason. They are literally always right outside my apartment, and it's kind of annoying.

Anyways, my boyfriend was finally on his way over from Georgia two months later. The landlord even kept asking where he was and said he would love to show him fishing spots and such. I don't know if he ever expected to have just a woman living here. My boyfriend is very sweet, and christian, and shy, but can be headstrong when it comes to his rights and boundaries. The landlord approved my mom and me to build a kennel in the backyard, for my boyfriend when he gets here, as long as he uses a weed eater to maintain around it. 3 days before my boyfriend got here, the landlord asked to talk with me, and I was nervous about his tone. He was pacing around the porch when I got home. We had small talk, and then out of nowhere he goes: "Yeah, so how much did you want to give me for the pet deposit? " He 100% didnt want a pet deposit and told me that from day 1. It's what made this place so attractive to me. I even looked in the contract he signed, and it says that clear as day in it. I stood my ground( which I'm not great at sometimes) and explained this calmly. He then starts pacing around and angrily says, "Oh, so your boyfriend and his dogs just get to live here for fu*****ing free, huh? " I calmly explained why this wasn't the case, as this was all agreed upon months ago. He also would have rented to a couple anyway if they had pets. I said that if my boyfriend can't be here, then I can't either. He changes his tune super fast at this point and admits that he needs me here, and if I left, he would have 30 days to give me my deposit back, and he doesn't have it. He then proceeds to admit that he is desperate and struggling to pay his 1700 a month mortgage. He then admits, like an idiot, that his dad and brother don't pay any rent. His elderly dad(whom I have seen twice) helped him with the down payment and doesn't get much from social security, and his brother " does work on the property" for his rent. I stand my ground still, and he admits that he likes me as a tenant and that he needs me here, and he will drop it. It also felt unfair because I had just had to dish out 60 bucks for a fence to go around my porch to deter the dogs from being on it and chewing on my things. I agreed to give him the rent 10 days early to help him out.

So my boyfriend finally came across the country 2 days later. When he meets him, he asks a little too soon about putting a dog kennel extension in. The landlord literally gets offended because he keeps his dogs in a large kennel, and it's no life for them, and it's worse to keep the dogs away from each other, as it won't help them get along. My boyfriend hears his point but continues to try to get some kind of straight answer out of the guy, if he can attach a kennel to the back door. The landlord isn't super easy to talk with at times, as he talks in sarcasm a lot in a way. I try to put my points in to helo the convo and help them communicate. The landlord starts digging into why my boyfriend is so obsessed with building a kennel extension either away from the house or on the back porch. My boyfriend barely utters that he doesn't trust his dogs, and then they both ended up going off on each other, all offended. The landlord starts yelling at my boyfriend and vice versa about how neither one of the sets of dogs is trained. It turns into a pissing match. My boyfriend wasn't being great in some ways by calling him out about how hands-off he is about his dogs, but the landlord really was focused on being offended by the fact that someone wouldn't want their dogs around his pit bulls, which are just free-range only dogs. My boyfriend, on day one, is screaming, just saying he's just going to leave, even though he just moved in on day one. I asked them both to separate and asked my boyfriend to go into the house. I go and talk to the landlord on his porch to see eye to eye. We come to terms, and he admits that it would be sad to see the guy leave when he just drove across the country. The landlord feels that people fight and argue, and that we can get over this. The landlord then takes my boyfriend some chili and tries to make things right. This was a few days ago, and it's the last time we talked.

My boyfriend has been fixing cracks in the walls and broken things in the apartment. He has fixed some of the big issues, but even the washer is already heavily leaking, and I find myself afraid to say anything. My boyfriend wants to fortify his dog kennel and is staying at a motel until the extension gets here on Monday. I can't tell if he's being overprotective of his dogs or not. He won't even put them outside in the nice kennel that we even reinforced with chicken wire, without watching his dogs out the window. The landlord's dogs are always right under your feet when you walk outside, and my boyfriend won't even put his dogs down for a second. They are like children to him, and the landlord even made fun of him for that when they were arguing at one point. The landlord even brought up the lack of pet deposit again when they were fighting, which pissed me off because I gave him rent so early to help him out. I begged my boyfriend to give this at least a month to see if things get better. He is already looking for another place for us, as he thinks the dog situation will get worse the larger they get, with how hands-off he is. He also doesn't like how rude he might be if we ask for any repairs unless it's at his convenience. I don't know what to do at this point, as I feel like my boyfriend doesn't understand how it's hard to find an affordable place here that will allow pets. I need advice.

Many property owners only realize the importance of a lease agreement when problems start to arise.

A written lease is not just a formality. It is one of the most important risk management tools available to landlords, property investors, and rental property owners.

Without a properly executed lease agreement, questions can quickly become disputes:

• What was the agreed rental rate?
• When is rent due?
• Who is responsible for repairs?
• What happens if payments are delayed?
• How much is the security deposit?
• What are the move-out requirements?
• Can the tenant sublease the property?

When these terms are not clearly documented, misunderstandings become more likely, and resolving issues becomes significantly more difficult.

From a property management perspective, a lease agreement protects both the property owner and the tenant by establishing clear expectations from the beginning of the tenancy.

A well-prepared lease should clearly define:

✔ Rental terms and duration
✔ Monthly rental payments
✔ Security deposit provisions
✔ Maintenance responsibilities
✔ Occupancy rules
✔ Property use restrictions
✔ Renewal and termination procedures
✔ Default and dispute provisions

The goal is not to anticipate conflict.

The goal is to create clarity.

Professional property management is not simply about collecting rent. It is about implementing systems that protect assets, preserve income, reduce risk, and improve long-term property performance.

One missing document can create months of avoidable problems.

Property owners: Do you require a written lease agreement for every tenant, regardless of the rental amount or relationship?

I don’t know how people do multiple showings every week without getting mentally exhausted. You clean the place, coordinate schedules, drive over there, repeat the same explanations 15 times and then half the applicants ghost anyway. I used to think this part would actually be kind of enjoyable. Instead it feels like speed dating mixed with customer service. 
Do experienced landlords eventually stop finding showings tiring or is this just part of the process forever?