Tennessee Residential Lease Agreement for Rental Properties

Landlords often try to rent property to make a little money for themselves, and a Tennessee lease agreement is crucial. These documents set the tone for the experience that both the landlord and the tenant have over the course of a lease.  

Therefore, your lease agreement should protect your needs and tell prospective tenants what they should know before renting.

Typically, lease agreements include information about the rent, security deposits, and other miscellaneous factors, such as termination terms and pet allowances. 

This page outlines everything you should provide in a Tennessee lease agreement and offers tips about making the process easier with property management software.

Tennessee Leases

A lease is a legally-binding contract signed by the landlord and tenant. Sometimes, you may even have a Tennessee commercial lease agreement or a Tennessee sublease agreement.

The legal document states the rules associated with the rental unit, such as monthly rent, security deposit, and recurring fees so that the tenant understands everything. The lease agreement has to comply with the landlord-tenant laws of Tennessee, which we briefly cover here.

What to Include

The rental agreement should include these bits of information:

Rent

The landlord can charge a tenant any rent price they deem appropriate because there are no control policies. Unless otherwise stated, rent is due at the start of each month.

Landlords have no limits on how much to increase prices, so they can raise the cost as much as they want for the property.

There is a five-day grace period for tenants, which doesn't count Sunday or legal holiday days. Late payments can get a ten percent maximum fee.

Security Deposit

Landlords don't have to collect a security deposit from the tenants, but it's recommended. If that's the case, it should be listed in the contract. There's no security deposits maximum amount, and the landlord is required to give back all funds within 30 days of the tenant vacating the premises.

Right to Entry for Repairs

Landlords aren't required to give a notice to access the property, though most people provide a twenty-four hours' notice. Still, the landlord isn't required to put that in the contract.

Lease Termination and Evictions

There are many reasons a landlord can terminate the lease term, including:

• Failure to cover payment amount or not paying rent
• Violating the lease (damage to the unit, smoking in non-smoking areas, etc.)
• Conducting illegal activity
• Safety violations

Eviction notices must be 30 days for monthly lease agreements. Landlords are required to visit the justice court where the rental property is, which might be general sessions or a circuit court. You must fill out the appropriate forms and pay the filing cost.

Then, the tenant is served by a peace officer or professional process server six days before your eviction hearing is scheduled.

Mandatory Disclosure

Every rental agreement should include these disclosures, usually as an itemized list. The state laws of Tennessee require them for each property rented by landlords to a tenant.

• Landlord Name and Address - Each rental property should list the property owner and landlord for each rental unit, disclosing the name and address for future legal demands and notices sent by the tenant.
• Security Deposit Holdings Disclosure - If the landlord chooses to charge and hold security deposits, Tennessee law requires that they disclose the account location where it's held, though the account number doesn't have to be included.
• Right to Enter for Showings - The property owner can enter the property to show it before the end of the lease term. However, landlords must have this included in the agreement, warning the current tenant that potential tenants may be on the property. There must be a twenty-four-hour notice.
• Lead-based Paint - Federal law requires landlords of homes built before 1978 to disclose the risks of lead-based paint. Therefore, the landlord must fill out a disclosure form from the EPA and attach it to the agreement. They must also offer prospective tenants an approved pamphlet about its dangers.
• Late Fees - The tenant has a right to know which fees are charged for what purposes. Therefore, landlords must provide prospective tenants with this information before the move-in date.

Build Your Own 

You can create a customized lease agreement document online. It's a multiple-choice quiz that will let you choose everything you want for your document.

Once you're done, you'll get your customized document, which you can use at any moment you prefer.

eSignature

Lease signing can give your tenants a great first impression about your community and what living there is like, so one of the best things you can do is make sure your process goes as smoothly and easily as possible.

With DoorLoop, you can get eSignatures on your leases done within a few seconds, and you can also create reusable lease templates that are autofilled with each tenant's information.

DoorLoop also connects with well-known listing sites like Zillow, Trulia, Hotpads, Apartments.com, and more so that you can attract tenants on autopilot. You can also make sure you're bringing in the most reliable tenants by screening your prospects in seconds through an integration with TransUnion.

For more info about DoorLoop, learn more or schedule a free demo.

Using DoorLoop

Real estate investors typically choose rentable places so that they can have tenants to cover most of the bills. However, it's hard to complete lease agreements without property management software.

DoorLoop gives you a free form to help you complete templates in seconds. Plus, you can auto-fill them and even perform tenant screening by seeing the tenant's credit information after they complete a Tennessee rental application form. Then, send the agreement directly to the prospect once it's customized to your liking!

Please request a free demo today to start using DoorLoop now!