One month lease with stipulations

[Josselyn Jorge]

Particular situation here! Looking to create a 30-45 day lease for someone who owns another unit in my building. She’ll be doing repairs in her own unit and would like to stay in mine while that happens since my unit is on the first floor and she can’t take stairs. The trade off would be she won’t pay rent in my unit, which is currently up for sale. However, she’ll stage it and also complete the repairs for the flooring. I’ll provide the materials and her husband will change the flooring. He has worked on my Unit before and she used to manage it, which is why I’d be more comfortable in this type of situation. Regardless, I’d still like to get a month contract with these stipulations to make sure the bases are covered. Any suggestions? 

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Josselyn Jorge:

I have to side with @John Karg on this one. It could work out, but I've seen agreements like this go sideways far too often. You would let her live in your unit for free in exchange for work. What if the work is not to your satisfaction, or not completed? You will be stuck with no money and have to pay to correct/finish the work. What if she stays longer than agreed? You will be stuck with no money and potentially more losses trying to get her out. 

My preference would be to use two separate agreements. One is a standard rental agreement where she rents the unit from you in exchange for money. The other is a contract to hire her husband to do the work and you pay him after the work is completed to your satisfaction, just like you would with any contractor.