Over the course of a year, the members of the Association’s Property Management Committee worked on rewriting the Association’s Residential Lease.

     There have been a number of changes in Federal and Maryland law in recent years including  environmental laws, laws of agency, fair housing statutes and the growth of homeowners associations. Years of experience by property managers, agents, landlords and tenants have led to new conclusions about the way that the Lease is interpreted and used by Landlords, Tenants and Realtors. These are a few of the changes in the new Lease.

• Security Deposits: This section has been clarified so that it will be more clear to Landlords, Tenants and Agents that there are very specific laws regarding security deposits such as the need to provide notice within 45 days of the end of the tenancy of money being withheld for damages, and to then return all remaining funds.

• Community Associations: With so many associations throughout the area, it was just a matter of time until confusion and clashes developed between Tenants and community associations. The new lease now identifies the existence and the name of the Association right on the front page, obligates the owner or owner’s agent to provide whatever community rules the tenant will be expected to live by and gives the enforcement of these rules and covenants some teeth by clearly noting that "Failure to comply with the provisions of the Association Documents or Rules and Regulations shall constitute a breach of this Lease."

• Repairs and Tenant Maintenance of the Property: This is probably the biggest area of confusion in a residential tenancy. Residents are often unclear of what they are responsible for taking care of in the property. As a result, the cost of repairs are frequently thrown to the Landlord or just not reported at all.

     We tried to clarify what the Landlord is responsible for (structural and major repairs) and what the Tenants are responsible for (ongoing maintenance and operation of the property). Then we tried to address the big gray area of what falls in between.

     There are 16 points in Section 24 that give specific guidance to Tenants and Landlords. These points can really be used as a "checklist" of chores and responsibilities. They are not all inclusive and will not address each and every situation, but they do identify maintenance issues in a clear way for all concerned.

• Move-Out: This is a basic list of things that a Tenant must do prior to the move-out inspection. We hope that it once again will make it clear to Landlords and Tenants what is to be done. Such as cleaning, exterminating, removal of personal property for the premises, cutting grass, raking leaves, carpet cleaning, and so on.

• Pets: The starting point of the Lease is "no pets allowed" unless permission is granted in writing by the Landlord. Tenants are responsible for any damage including odors, stains and other damage. Not all animals are affected by the "no pets" clause. Federal and State statutes regarding disabilities make it legal for a Tenant to have bonafide assistance from an animal such as a seeing-eye dog, a hearing dog and a dog which is able to assist its owner in the event of a seizure. Consult your attorney for more information on theses requirements.

Some other points to be aware of:

• Lead Paint: There are two brief sections on lead paint: on the new addendum page, there is a tenant acknowledgement of the dangers of lead paint, and it is stated that if the tenant breaks the lease in a property affected by the lead paint laws, then the cost of re-testing the property for lead in order to comply with the law may fall to the tenant breaking the lease. Please note that nothing in this lease is a substitute for completing the proper Maryland and Federal forms and notices.

• Changes In Addendum: There is now a paragraph on the addendum sheet for agents to disclose their ownership of the property; there is a section on wells, septic tanks and water conditioning systems; and the pet addendum and civilian and military transfer addendum have been clarified.

• Minimum Lease Terms In Annapolis: The addendum page also includes a section on a somewhat obscure statute in the laws of the City of Annapolis. By current statute, any lease in Annapolis must be offered for a minimum term of one year unless a written reasonable cause is provided by the Landlord to the Tenant. We think that this was enacted in the late 1980’s to prevent landlords from constantly raising rents on month-to-month leases but now it appears to be a blanket covering everyone.

     Some other things that have been clarified are how to calculate the amount of rent due for the full term when there is a partial month to be pro-rated; the consequence of not being truthful on the rental application; when receipts must be provided for rents received; responsibility for smoke detectors in properties of various sizes; the consequences of a tenant not providing the liability insurance policy that they agreed to provide; and what exactly "30 days notice" means when ending a lease.

     Finally, this lease categorizes a number of items as "additional rent" so that failure to pay them can be addressed in landlord-tenant complaints in District Court. This applies to late fees, unpaid tenant repair deductibles, certain unpaid utility bills among other items.

     Our thanks to all those property managers, agents, managers, brokers, landlords, tenants and lawyers who contributed their suggestions and ideas to this major revision of the lease form. We hope that the new lease will be a clear guide for all who use it.

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