Can I let them in early?

[Matt T.]

I've just collected the first month, the deposit, and the pro-rated rent for the remaining days of August on my first rental.

Tomorrow I do the walkthrough with the wife (tenants are husband and wife).

The contract states that the lease starts on August 21, but I would just like to give the keys to the wife tomorrow--the 16th.

If I do that, do I need to have her amend the contract in some way? Or do I need to create a special document just for this purpose?

The place is vacant and I'd rather they were in there than leave the place vacant.

To make matters a bit more muddy, I let slip the statement that "I'll probably give you the keys a couple days early so you can start moving in" when we signed the contract a week ago.