Rental Agreement and Subject Matter
I entered into a rental agreement, in which subject matter was individual apartment comprising of a bath, 2 rooms, and a kitchen.
The Parties in Contract
The parties in the contract were a renter, who is a legal person or the owner of the residential space. I was the tenant as I have received a residential permit from the renter.
Specific Contractual Details
The contractual details comprised of the name of renter who agrees to rent out the apartment of the tenant, whose name was also mentioned
The amount of rent was mentioned in the contract, and the fine imposed in case of late payment of rent was also mentioned on the contract.
Further, it was mentioned that the rent should not be late more than 5 days otherwise tenant would have to pay fine or additional charge.
In the contract, it was indicated to pay for utilities, gas, water, and telephone, and they will not be included in rent, rent will be $700 excluding water, telephone, and electricity bill.
Members of tenant were also allowed to live in apartment, and they can enjoy same rights as that of tenants
Further, the amount of security deposit was also mentioned. The security was mentioned to be held by renter or landlord till tenants vacated the apartment, and landlord can deduct amount for any damage from the rent.
Insurance coverage was provided in the contract as tenant was responsible for coverage such as fire insurance coverage in the apartment or in premise.
The amount of rent was mentioned in the contract, and the fine imposed in case of late payment of rent was also mentioned on the contract.
Further, it was in the contract that the renter will not ask the tenant to vacant the apartment before a year. Tenant can live in the apartment for a year
Moreover, in case the tenant wants to vacant the apartment, he/she has to intimate the renter one month before, and the intimation should be in writing because a written notice is required from the tenant.
Five Essential Elements of an Enforceable Contract
The five essential elements of an enforceable contract are offer, acceptance, consideration, capacity, and lawful purpose.
Offer
Offer in case of contract represents a particular promise and a particular demand. In this case of rental agreement, I agreed to pay a rent of USD 700 per month, along with electricity bill, water bill, and telephone bill. I agree not to harm anything that is already in the apartment.
Acceptance
Acceptance is in the form of an act or promise. In this agreement, I agree to pay rent on monthly basis, and use the premise with care, and not to cause any damage to the apartment.
Consideration
Consideration represents legal benefit receipt. In this case of rental agreement, security deposit of amount $1000 is the consideration, and also the monthly rent of $700 is consideration.
Capacity
Capacity represents the ability of parties of entering into the contract. In this rental agreement, both the parties were mentally competent, and both agreed to fulfill the terms of contract.
Lawful Contact
A valid contract comprises of a legal purpose. The rental contract is, however, enforceable in the court.
There are, however, circumstances of a breach of contract. For example, I as tenant may not be able to manage to rent of a month, and also fail to give the fine that was mentioned in the contract. In this case, there is possible remedy, I may make a promise and give surety to renter that I will give the payment on a particular future date. The owner or renter can, however, issue breach notice. I may also intimate the renter about my financial situation, and convince him to negotiate an agreement for paying the arrears in installments that are affordable for me in this situation. Further, in case of breach notice from the owner, I should respond to the notice so that the problem can be fixed in a timely manner.
Renter may order tenant to vacant the apartment before a year, and tenant want to stay there, then in this case breach of contract occur. But, this matter can be solved via negotiations by mentioning the clause of the contract or by seeking legal assistance in this regard as the case is enforceable in the court. In this case, renter can stay in the home till any final decision is made by the court. Tenant should visit court, and the story should be told so that accurate decision can be made.
Further, in case of any incidence of fire, the renter may refuse to give insurance, and in this case also legal assistance can be taken, and matter can be solved. The notice of breach of agreement or contract can be written to the renter, and the clauses that are breached can be mentioned in the writing so that the renter come to know that he is violating the law, and is not fulfilling the promise that is made in the contract.
