Helpful tips for residential lease

[Aundrea Newbern]

All,

What are the most useful things you put in a residential lease? I have heard some very neat tips over the years that I have adopted and am VERY grateful for as they have vastly improved my lease. 

I'll start - I have recently added a provision to my lease that requires the tenant to pay a service call fee (in addition to related repairs) if there is a maintenance issue due to tenant neglect. Another investor told me about a recent mishap where a tenant tried to flush something down the toilet that should have been buried or cremated. This is the type of scenario where I will charge a fee for the service call.  Additionally, I include the paint # in my lease. My tenants are allowed to paint the units but they must return it to the EXACT paint color as before. I outline in my lease what the paint color is and that if they fail to return it to those colors, their security deposit will be forfeited for the cost to professionally repaint the unit.

Share your best tips with us!