(Objective 1: Increase ability to read and understand a rental agreement.)

• No Handouts

Suggested Introduction: The Rental Agreement we examined provided detailed information on paying rent, who is in charge of the smoke detector and when the landlord can enter the property. There are many rental agreement types and the model we used is just an example. Some landlords use verbal agreements with their tenants. Thinking about all the things we’ve seen in the Smith’s Rental Agreement and talked about, what do you think are some of the advantages of having a written rental agreement?

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Brainstorm answers with participants and summarize/supplement their responses with:

• Easier to enforce if there are problems
• Avoids disagreements when memories differ
• Provides a record of the conditions the landlord and tenant
  agreed to
• Protects tenants from changes in rent or rental conditions that occurred after move-in

When a landlord does not offer a written rental agreement you may want to record the conversation using your phone or confirm the details of the agreement by sending an email or text message saying “just confirming [insert terms of agreement] is what we discussed, let me know if that’s not accurate”. Another option would be to bring a standard Wisconsin rental agreement form to your meeting with the landlord and ask the landlord to sign it.