A residential lease has to identify who is renting from whom, what unit, for how much, for how long, and on what terms. At minimum: the full legal names of landlord and tenant, the property address and unit, the monthly rent and when it is due, the term start and end dates, the deposit you hold, and whatever disclosures your province or state requires.
Miss the last one and an otherwise reasonable lease can be unenforceable in part, because required disclosures are exactly the clauses legislatures do not treat as optional.
The core terms
| Term | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Parties | Names the people bound by the agreement, including every adult tenant |
| Premises | The address and the specific unit, so there is no ambiguity about what was rented |
| Rent | The amount, the due date, and the accepted payment methods |
| Term | Start and end dates, and what happens when the term ends |
| Deposit | The amount held, and the conditions for returning it |
| Utilities | Who pays for what, in writing, before the first bill arrives |
| Maintenance | Who is responsible for repairs and how the tenant reports them |
| Entry | Notice you must give before entering the unit |
The jurisdiction layer
This is where a generic template fails. Required disclosures vary widely: lead paint in older US housing, how and where a security deposit must be held, the name of the financial institution holding it, rent control status, local ordinances. Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec go further and mandate a specific form, so using your own template is not an option there.
ProperLease handles this by generating the official provincial form in those three provinces, and a state-specific lease with that state's disclosures in 45 US states.
What to do in ProperLease
- Open Leases and start a new lease for the tenant and unit.
- Set the monthly rent, term start and end, and the deposit you are collecting.
- Generate the PDF. The jurisdiction-specific clauses and disclosures are already in it.
- Sign, get the tenant's signature, and keep the signed copy on the lease record so the paperwork and the data live together.
For a deeper read, see what a legally sound lease must include.
Requirements differ by province and state and change over time. Confirm the current rules for your location.
Run your rentals with absolute clarity
ProperLease helps self-managing landlords in Canada and the US track rent, generate provincial and state leases, serve notices, and stay tax ready.