11 Sep The 25 Essential Forms for Rental Property Management
Frequently I am asked what forms are needed to successfully manage rental property. Every state, county and municipality have their own issues as well. Here are the 25 essential forms for rental property management. These are the minimum forms you need. Not the only forms you need. You may also need other forms to comply with your state, county, or city requirements.
I am not an attorney. If you need legal advice on the forms you have chosen to use please contact an attorney licensed to do business in your location and competent in this area of the law.*
Application
A one page document that you can give to anyone interested in your rental property. Any longer than this and they won’t fill it out. Most who take home the one page application will not fill it out either.
Tenant Reference Questionnaire
A form to be mailed to the applicants references for verification of information provided.
Authorization to Provide Information
This is signed by the applicant and can get you the information you need without a warrant most of the time. We also have a “Durable Authorization to Provide Information” that we have the new tenants sign before a notary before giving them the keys. It may let us verify information after the tenant moves out.
Qualified Tenant Application
Ours is a little over 20 Pages in length. We use this to further screen what we have found to be eligible candidates for tenancy.
Minimum Rental Qualifications Form
This is a one page document that you hand to every potential candidate. It lists the income, deposit and all other requirements of occupancy consideration.
Lease
Depending on where you live and local ordinances you might choose a month-to-month agreement, an annual lease or if you manage a mobile home park in Illinois a two year lease.
Pet Addendum
Some landlords love pets, others not so much. Make sure you have a written agreement that identifies the pet and includes a photo. It should also specify if any pet deposits or extra rent are to be charged.
Denial of Occupancy Letter
This is also known as an adverse action letter. It advises the applicant that they were not selected for residency. Your attorney should also help you avoid breaking any local, state or federal fair housing laws. Yes you may be subject to local fair housing laws as well as federal. Members of Illinois REIA have discounted access to www.RentPerfect.com which not only runs credit and criminal history but send out these letters for you as well at no additional charge.
Deposit to Hold Agreement
This allows the applicant to place a deposit to hold the unit until a specific date. If you disqualify the applicant you should give them their deposit back. If they call back later and back out that is a different story.
Pay Rent of Quit Notice
This is a required notice to a tenant who is late in paying their rent to get it in or face eviction. In Illinois this is also known as a Five Day Notice. However, other states have three day notices as well.
Property Rules and Regulations
These are rules and regulations in addition to the lease. The best part is that these may be amended as needed without needing to renew or rewrite the original lease agreement.
Move In Requirements / New Tenant Checklist
Just because someone has been accepted does not mean they will do everything they can to get into the property. We also refer to this as the Get the Keys letter. To get the keys you need to perform the following actions; get the utilities in your name, provide proof of renter’s insurance, provide and original copy of the occupancy permit if required. Whatever you need to get from them, it goes in this letter.
Move In Packet
This tells the new resident what is expected and how to contact the local utilities, schools and other amenities.
Mold and Mildew Disclosure Form
If there is an issue you must disclose it.
Notice of Entry
Your lease should allow you to enter the property without permission if a state of emergency like a fire or flood is imminent. After that you need to get permission for either yourself or your maintenance team to enter periodically to check on the unit for issues. There is normally a period of notice like 48 hours from service of notice but that can vary by state as well.
The Lead-Based Paint brochure, Disclosure and Receipt. May be the MOST Critical Rental Property Management Form
You can download the Brochure at https://www.hud.gov/offices/lead/library/enforcement/pyf_eng.pdf and print them out or buy them directly from the government. Make sure you get a signature on a receipt proving you delivered the packet. There are actually three Rental property management forms here but it all fits in one category.
Notice to Cure
Tenants do make mistakes and need to be told to correct them or face eviction. In Illinois this is known as a 10-Day Notice. It is a list of things that have “breached” the lease agreement.
Barring Notice
In Illinois this can be used to permanently bar or ban a disruptive individual from the rental unit. If properly served, it can be used to arrest the individual for trespassing.
Termination of Tenancy
This form allows the property manager to terminate the rental agreement for “Almost” any reason. It cannot be used to violate Fair Housing or contract law. In Illinois this is called a 30 Day notice but it is as little as 20 days in some states.
Move-Out Packet
This explains the move-out process for your tenants and what they must do to get some or all of their deposit back. It should state that you have so many days to verify that there are no liens from utilities or other issues before returning their deposit.
Cleaning Check List with Pricing
This is just what is says. Clean the unit and appliances or forfeit some of your deposit so we can hire someone who will.
Move-In & Move-Out Condition Report
This is done twice, once at move in and again at move out. Make sure to take pictures on both occasions. Try and get the tenant and their family in at least one of the shots during move in. Sometimes that is not practical during move out.
Disposition of Deposit
This is a form that explains why the former tenant is receiving all, some or none of their deposit back.
Lease Renewal Agreement
It notifies the tenant that they are great folks and we would like them to stay. It also lets us ask them if there are any improvements to the property that they would like made.
Holiday / Staff Introduction Letter
As time goes by you may hire and fire employees that assist you in the business. Send out a letter to your residents wishing them a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year or both and introduce your staff members at the same time.
As stated above ALWAYS check with a competent attorney before you send anything out in writing. If you do not have an attorney you should consider joining a pre-paid legal service such as LegalShield.
Go to www.Skidis.Biz for more information on LegalShield.
We have over 100 Rental Property Management Forms available in “The Ins and Outs of Tenant Screening” and “The Ins and Outs of Leases” by George N. Skidis, Jr. These course guides sell for $297.00 individually but if you reference this blog post and use the code “IL REIA RULES” you can purchase both courses for $397.00 until October 31st. Contact [email protected] for more information.
Good Luck and Good Investing
George N. Skidis, Jr.
President and Founder of Illinois REIA
No Comments