The Perfect Lease for Both Landlords, Tenants : Rentals: Arrangements should be fair to both parties even though their interests may conflict.

If you are a tenant, the rent is too high and the services supplied by the landlord are inadequate. If you are a landlord, the rent is too low, the expenses are too high and the tenants are always complaining.

But problems can be minimized by use of a well-written lease that is fair to both landlord and tenant. Here are the most important considerations to look for in the perfect lease:

Lease or rent month-to-month. The biggest choice property owners and renters must make is to decide on a month-to-month rental or a lease for one year or longer. Most tenants prefer an annual lease because it gives them protection from rent increases. However, many landlords prefer month-to-month rentals because they allow rent raises to be passed along with cost increases. Another advantage is the ease of evicting a troublesome tenant.

But in cities with a glut of vacant rentals most owners are happy to sign either a lease or a month-to-month rental. The monthly rental offers the resident the advantage of being able to move out on just 30-days notice to the landlord. Even with a lease, however, if the tenant breaks the lease, the landlord must try to re-rent. In the meantime, however, the vacating leaseholder is liable for any loss suffered by the landlord.

How to get the rent paid on time. The ideal lease or rental agreement gives the tenant an incentive to pay the rent on time. Some landlords use late charges to get the tenant to pay on time. But another approach, made popular by Jack Miller of Tampa, Fla., and John Schaub of Sarasota, Fla., in their real estate seminars, is to give the tenant a discount for rent received by the first of the month. As a user of this program, I can vouch for its success.

For example, I give my tenants a $50 rent discount for each month I receive their rent check by the first day of the month, the tenant pays the first $50 of any repairs, the tenant maintains the property to my satisfaction and the tenant does not phone me, except for emergencies such as fire, flood or death.

But, surprisingly, I have a few tenants to whom $50 means nothing. Every month they wait until the third or fourth day of the month to pay their full rent without the discount. After the fifth day, late charges begin. If the tenant refuses to pay the late fee, it comes out of their security deposit, as allowed by their rental agreement.

The security deposit. Most tenants expect to pay a security deposit to cover damage to the property or in case the tenant doesn’t pay the rent. Owners want as large a deposit as they can get, but tenants naturally want as small a deposit as possible. However, in cities with high vacancy rates, some landlords gladly waive the security deposit just to get their rentals occupied.

From the tenant’s viewpoint, the most troublesome aspect of security deposits is getting a refund when moving out. The full security deposit should be refunded if there was no abnormal damage beyond normal wear and tear. The tenant’s best protection is to take color photos of the rental at the time of move-in. If there was any prior damage, such as a cigarette burn on the carpet, it should be noted on the move-in check list.

Some unscrupulous landlords have a policy of never refunding security deposits. Even when the tenant leaves the rental sparkling clean with no damage, some landlords try to claim they can use the security deposit for painting or routine cleaning. Taking the landlord to Small Claims or Housing Court is usually the best legal remedy to shape up such a greedy landlord.

Other terms of the perfect lease. The list of possible special provisions in a lease is endless. An extra deposit for pets, for example, is one subject which should be covered. Finally, the perfect lease that is fair to both landlord and tenant should specify any special rules, such as limitations on repairing autos in the driveway. A well-written rental agreement can virtually end the typical landlord-tenant disputes that can arise in rental situations.