Potential tenant wants to edit my lease.

[Gary L Wallman]

I'm an experienced landlord and this is a first. 

I'm hoping to receive some feedback on my decision.

A potential renter from out of town who saw our ad on Zillow asked me to email them a copy of our lease.  After I complied, they then proceeded to make the changes they wanted to it (I use a BiggerPockets Ohio lease BTW).

I thanked them for their interest in my property and promptly and firmly declined to modify me lease in any form or function.  They actually seemed shocked that I would not alter my lease for them.

Was I wrong?.

[Matthew Dennehy]

Revising your lease without speaking to an attorney is never a good idea. Your lease form has been prepared to comply with specific state laws and it has been prepared to protect you. You don’t want to risk diluting that protection or worse, voiding that protection from the wrong changes.

Secondly, it’s always important to keep fair housing in mind, even if you’re not at the point where it applies to you. You don’t want to change your lease document for one tenant and not another, even if the circumstances are different.

It sounds like you did the right thing by passing on these tenants. If they brought up any changes that make sense for a lease, just make a note of them for a potential lease revision down the road. The lease I use gets reviewed and updated regularly to make sure it’s always valid, relevant, and in compliance