Lease addendum - pet

[Ryan Bird]

Do you add pet addendum towards the end of lease agreement (last pages) or do they need to be singed separately after the lease is executed?

Wondering if I can send one e-sign with everything together or if I need to send two - one for lease and another for pet addendum.

[Dave G.]

@Ryan Bird I am no lawyer (so maybe you just stop reading here), but here is how I look at it. Unless there is some particular contract law in your state, the addendum is part of the lease agreement as it should be clearly referenced in the lease. Or you can include the language within the lease document itself as a paragraph or section vs addendum. If it is an addendum (which is common), I would never think of it as a separate, stand alone document. The lease, combined with all applicable addendums, would comprise the entire lease agreement that the landlord and tenant must perform to. 

In terms of actual signatures, just like with a purchase contract, I would get the tenant to initial every page of the lease and addendums, with signatures on the last page of the lease doc and each addendum. 

[Kenny Dahill]

@Ryan Bird, there's a few scenarios that determine the best practice.

Tenant moves in with pets:  At a section about pets in the lease.  There may be different clauses for security deposit, rent, fees, requirements, criteria, etc.  At move-in, fill out those fields either in the Lease itself or reference Exhibit that contains more info.  If they don't have a pet, still make sure to reference zero pets on the lease but no need for Exhibit.

Tenants move in without pets but get one later:  Create a Lease Addendum that is essentially your pet exhibit.  You'll need to reference the original lease.  Display the fees or rent.  If pet rent, display what their new monthly total is.  

Addendums are used to change contract terms after execution.  Whereas, exhibits can be attached to a contract for further clarification at the time of execution.  That's my layman's definition since I'm not a lawyer.