Understand your rights and duties as a landlord or tenant.

In general, a tenant should pay rent on time, use reasonable care and not damage property, properly dispose of garbage, repair damage caused by careless action, and refrain from taking an additional occupant or subleasing without the landlord's written permission,

A landlord should generally make property habitable before tenants move in; make and pay for repairs due to ordinary wear and tear; refrain from turning off a tenant's water, electricity, or gas; provide written notice to tenants when ownership of the property is transferred to a new landlord; and not unlawfully discriminate.

Lease
For parties to best understand their obligations and duties, it is best for the parties to agree to and sign a lease. For instance, a lease should include payments, due dates, responsibilities, payment of utility bills, property maintenance, or the process for a maintenance request.

A lease also commonly is valid for a fixed period of time. Such a fixed period will protect a tenant from a rent increase during that time and a landloard is assured that he or she will receive rent for that period.

A tenant should review the provisions of an entire contract and ask questions or obtain a legal opinion about unclear provisions. If there are any provisions of a lease a tenant wishes to modify, a tenant should request such a modification from a landlord and modifications should be agreed to in writing with a lease.

At a minimum a lease should include the landlord's name, address and phone number; rental property address; amount of monthly rent; rent due date and grace period (if any); amount of security deposit and conditions for its return; and length of the lease. The lease should also stipulate who will pay for electricity, gas and water; the landlord's responsibility for repairs and cleaning; policies related to pets; or fees for late payments.

Discrimination
The Federal Fair Housing Act, and most state laws, prohibit discrimination in housing, including rental, sale, and advertising. In general, people should be treated equally on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap, or family status.

Some city ordinances may provide greater protection than a federal or state law. Check with your city to determine if there are greater protections. For example, the federal and mant state acts do not provide protection for discrimination based upon marital status or sexual orientation, but some cities may provide such protection with an ordinance.