A Lease Amendment is a written document that details changes or modifications to the terms in a previously executed Lease Agreement.
A lease agreement is a contract where the owner of residential property (the landlord) agrees to lease or rent the property to a person or persons (the tenant) in exchange for an agreed-upon amount of money.
What is a Lease Amendment?
A lease amendment modifies part or all of a lease agreement. It is a legally binding contract that a landlord and tenant sign to agree upon changed terms of a lease.
If a landlord and tenant agree to change a lease term from the original lease agreement, a lease amendment is a great way to document the new updated parts without affecting the rest of the lease agreement.
Sometimes, circumstances in life change, and the agreements we are a party to need to change.
Check the original lease agreement to see if you can amend the contract and how to amend the document.
You sometimes might refer to the amendment as a:
- Amendment to Lease Agreement
- Lease Modification Agreement
- Lease Amending Agreement
- Lease Renewal Agreement
- Lease Extension Agreement
Here are some basic terms to include in a lease amendment:
- Landlord: The name of the party who owns the property
- Tenant: The name of each tenant leasing the property
- Property: The street (physical) address of the leased property
- Lease Agreement: The name (title) and effective date of the original lease agreement
- Amended Sections: The specific sections of the agreement that changed and how they changed
- Other Terms: A statement that the other terms and conditions of the lease agreement are unchanged and remain in full force and effect
- Counterparts: Allows amendment execution in counterparts if the parties are not signing at the same time
- Governing Law: The state whose laws will govern the amendment
- Signatures: All the parties should sign the amendment
A lease agreement can have multiple amendments. Be sure to number each amendment in sequential order.
When Do I Need an Amendment to a Lease Agreement?
Many times, a landlord or tenant might want to change a lease term after both parties have signed the lease agreement.
Here are some examples of changes that landlords and tenants can make with a lease amendment:
- Renewing or extending the length of the lease
- Increasing or decreasing the monthly rent
- Allowing a pet
- Swapping or substituting tenants
- Adding a guarantor
- Adding a parking space or storage unit to the leased premises
- Requiring the tenant to get renter’s insurance
- Allowing the tenant to construct specific improvements
- Deleting a particular sentence or restriction
All parties to a lease agreement must agree to any changes made by a lease amendment. The parties’ signatures on a lease amendment attest to this agreement.
Consequences of Not Using a Lease Amendment Form
A lease amendment is a handy way to make changes that are not complicated and that you can document in a paragraph or two.
No matter how good your relationship with your landlord or tenant is, make sure any agreed-upon changes are in writing.
If you do not use a lease amendment, you may be stuck with lease terms that are unfavorable or are not what you and the other party want.
Or, you will have to go through the time and expense of drafting a new lease agreement, which may leave you subject to the renegotiation of specific provisions that you were not anticipating.
Here is a chart of possible consequences a Lease Amendment could help prevent:
| Landlord | Tenant |
|---|---|
| Lost Money -Paid less than agreed upon -Money spent removing unwanted improvements -Cost of de-fleaing property | Lost Money -Sudden increase in rent -Can’t build needed improvements for home office -Charged penalty for having a pet |
| Lost Time -Going to court over lease violations -Renegotiating the full lease agreement -Having to go to the property for inspections | Lost Time -Going to court over lease violations -Renegotiating the full lease agreement -Having to be at home for any inspections |
| Mental Anguish -Not trusting what your tenant tells you -Unable to prove changes your tenant orally agreed to -Anxiety over how the tenant is treating your property | Mental Anguish -Not trusting what your landlord tells you -Unable to prove changes your landlord orally agreed to -Anxiety over possible eviction |
How to Write a Lease Amendment
Before you fill in your lease amendment, write your state at the top of the form.
Step 1 – Enter Lease Agreement Details
1. Lease Agreement Name. Provide the full name/title of the original lease agreement.
2. Lease Agreement Date. Write the effective date of the original lease agreement.
Step 2 – Fill in Landlord and Tenant Details
3. Landlord. Provide the full landlord name. This is the party who owns the property the tenant is leasing.
4. Tenant. Write the full name of each tenant. Tenants are the parties leasing the property from the landlord.
Step 3 – Restate Lease Agreement Details
5. Lease Agreement Name. Enter the full name or title of the original lease agreement.
6. Lease Agreement Date. Fill in the date the landlord and tenant entered into the original lease agreement (in most cases, this is the date the landlord and tenant signed the agreement).
7. Property Address. Write the street (physical) address of the property the tenant is leasing or renting. Include any unit or apartment number, if applicable.
8. Lease Agreement Section. This is optional. You can specify the section (or article) number in the original lease agreement that allows for amendments or revisions.
Step 4 – Identify Provisions
9. New Provisions. This section is applicable if you want to add any new provisions to the original lease agreement. Provide the new article or section number, and the text of the new provision. You can add as many new provisions as you like.
Step 5 – Document Sentence Amendments
10. Changing Specific Sentences. This section is applicable if you want to replace certain sentences in the original lease agreement. Provide the original article or section number as well as the text being replaced and the new text you are adding. You can replace and add as many sentences as you like.
Step 6 – Note Sentence Deletions
11. Deleting a Specific Sentence. This section is applicable if you want to delete a certain sentence in the original lease agreement. Provide the original section or sentence number (i.e., Section 2.5, sentence 3) and the text that you want to delete. You can delete as many sentences as you like.
Step 7 – Confirm Section Deletions
12. Deleting a Specific Section. This section is applicable if you want to delete a certain section in the original lease agreement. Provide the original article sr Section number that you want to delete. You can delete as many sections as you like.
Step 8 – Identify Section Amendments and Restatements
13. Changing and Restating Sections. This section is applicable if you want to amend and restate (replace in its entirety) an entire section in the original lease agreement. Provide the original article or section number and the new text for the section. You can amend and restate as many sections as you like.
Step 9 – Note Section Changes
14. Changing a Specific Section. This is applicable if you want to make certain changes to a section in the original lease agreement. Provide the article or section number, and the text of the change. You can make as many changes as you like.
Step 10 – Write Additional Provisions
15. Additional Changes. If there are additional changes you want to make that you did not address previously, describe them here.
Step 11 – Choose Governing Law
16. Choose State Law. Confirm that state whose laws will govern this amendment.
Lease Amendment Sample
Below you can find a sample of our Lease Amendment template. You can also download a blank template in PDF or Word format and fill it out on your own.