| Your Lease and Rental Documents Companion | 1 |
| 1 | Preparing a Lease or Rental Agreement | 5 |
| Which Is Better, a Lease or a Rental Agreement? | 7 |
| Getting All the Rent Under a Lease Isn't a Sure Thing | 8 |
| Instructions for Completing the Lease or Rental Agreement Form | 9 |
| Renters' Insurance | 32 |
| Instructions for Signing the Lease or Rental Agreement | 45 |
| Lease-Option Contracts (Rent-to-Buy) | 46 |
| 2 | Choosing Tenants: Your Most Important Decision | 57 |
| How to Advertise Rental Property | 58 |
| Renting Property That's Still Occupied | 60 |
| Accepting Rental Applications | 61 |
| Checking References, Credit History, and More | 67 |
| Protect Personally Identifiable Information | 74 |
| Avoiding Illegal Discrimination | 75 |
| Choosing-and Rejecting-an Applicant | 77 |
| Choosing a Tenant-Manager | 81 |
| Property Management Companies | 81 |
| 3 | Getting the Tenant Moved In | 83 |
| Inspect the Unit | 84 |
| Send New Tenants a Move-In Letter | 92 |
| Cash Rent and Security Deposit Checks | 95 |
| Organize Your Tenant Records | 95 |
| Organize Income and Expenses for Schedule E | 96 |
| 4 | Changing or Ending a Tenancy | 99 |
| How to Modify Signed Rental Agreements and Leases | 100 |
| Ending a Month-to-Month Tenancy | 101 |
| How Fixed-Term Leases End | 109 |
| Returning Security Deposits When a Tenancy Ends | 113 |
| Appendixes | |
| A | State Landlord-Tenant Law Charts | 115 |
| B | How to Use the Downloadable Forms on the Nolo Website | 195 |
| Editing RTFs | 196 |
| List of Forms Available on the Nolo Website | 197 |