What language was added to your lease in 2024?

Question

As I am sure is the case with many investors, my residential and commercial leases continue to evolve. Changes to local landlord/tenant laws and new situations involving tenants lead to these annual updates. What changes did others incorporate into their leases that were influenced by this years tenant interactions? I thought this could be a good way to take inventory of other situations landlords experienced and make proactive updates to our leases without having to first experience the same fact pattern. If you are going to share lease edits  brought on by local landlord tenant legislation updates make sure to include the location but I suspect edits influenced by tenant interaction will be most helpful to those who read these forums. Here's one of mine:

I acquired a building towards the middle of the year with an existing commercial tenant. The lease language requires the interior of the building to heat to 70 degrees. The tenant frequently informs me the interior temperature only reaches 68 degrees. However the thermostat is mounted  to the wall a few feet from the front door in a highly accessed retail store where the door is constantly opened. If not for the location of the thermostat the temperature would likely be satisfactory. Fortunately this isn't a situation that has impacted my relationship with this particular tenant. In fact we are working towards a 5 year extension on the existing lease. However there are tenants out there who look to exploit technicalities in leases and that is one of the reasons  why lease language is so important.  Moving forward in my  commercial leases I will now include language making the placement of thermostats the landlords decision with additional language prohibiting the relocation.

Kevin Hintz · Answer

I had a similar issue with one of my properties where the thermostat was near a door in a busy retail space, and the tenant was complaining the temperature was too low. I ended up updating the lease to say that thermostat placement is at the landlord's discretion, ensuring it’s in a spot where the temperature reading is accurate and not affected by drafts or constant foot traffic. I also added language to make it clear that any temperature adjustments should be reasonable, so it’s not left open for tenants to make claims. It worked out well, and I’ve stuck to that language in all my leases since then.

Marcus Auerbach · Answer

One can write a lot on a piece of paper and tenants will sign it - and then promptly forget about all of it and misplace their copy. That's the reason why we sign leases in person, so we can go over the main issues in person and make sure they are understood.

We also do a property orientation and show them how to operate the house, change filters and batteries, turn off water main - and of course the mystery of GFCI outlets

Nathan Gesner · Answer

Good share. I have a commercial property with four retail spaces and three different businesses. The tenants are not pulling/spraying weeds around their building, so it takes me about 30 minutes every month to pull weeds and spray. If the tenants did it while the weeds were small, it would take 1-2 minutes every week. I added a clause in their lease that makes them responsible for weed and trash within ten feet of their space. If they fail to handle it, I will do it and charge them for my time.

Another change I made was to add a no-deposit option to all my residential rentals. Qualified renters can opt to pay a non-refundable monthly fee instead of a traditional deposit. When they move out, I can access their account to charge for cleaning and repairs. It's complicated and not recommended for newer/smaller landlords, but it's a profit center for me.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

I had a tenant that used a portable washing machine. Their fill hose sprung a leak or something and hundreds of gallons of water poured into the apartment below them. It was about $10,000 to repair. Fortunately, the tenant paid for all of it.

They lived in a building with a nice laundry facility (six washers and dryers) that were priced below what the laundromats charge. Yet they bought a portable machine that could only wash one outfit at a time to save money. Instead, they paid $10,000 and dealt with all the inconvenience.

Alecia Loveless · Answer

@Stuart Udis My update is not nearly as complicated.

In 2024 we added language prohibiting residential tenants from using portable washing machines or portable dishwashers in their units.

This followed after a 2X overflow of a tenant on a first floor that flooded his bathroom using a portable washing machine and flooded the basement apartment. Said tenant failed to hook up the drain line properly both times.

Fortunately our remedy was fairly simple, large floor fans and new ceiling tiles but it was a massive inconvenience and the damage would likely be much worse if it repeated in units in other places.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

That's harsh!

There are so many landlords that never update their lease or other documents. They also don't understand the law, or the changes that are happening around the country.

Marcus Auerbach · Answer

Great question. For all non-attorneys, be very careful when modifying your residential lease! This could bankrupt you. We have a published case in Wisconsin now, where the landlord had to pay back ALL of the rent (yes, all of it, going back to when the tenant moved in!), because they had added a provision to their lease that conflicted with State law - even as there was no damage to the tenant! Talk about un-justice!From Atty Tristan Pettit about the Koble case: "if a landlord has a void rental agreement (i.e., the rental agreement contains one of the “10 Deadly Sins” as set forth in Wis. Stat. § 704.44  the remedy for the rental agreement being void and unenforceable is the complete disgorgement of all rent previously paid by the tenant to the landlord.

Stated another way, if a landlord has a provision in its rental agreement, which includes any rental documents as they are incorporated into the rental agreement, that violate any of the “10 Deadly Sins,” the landlord must return all rent that it received from the tenant during the tenant’s entire tenancy."

What makes this so dangerous is that some of these 10 deadly sins are quite ambiguous and a matter of interpretation. I see so many (residential) leases on deals here in Milwaukee that are a copy of a copy of a lease written on a typewriter in the 1900s, maybe a few handwritten additions..

Every State is different. I use Wisconsin Legal Blank forms, they are inexpensive and court-tested. We just implemented the 2024 updates.

What language was added to your lease in 2024?

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