Lease agreement: Can't leave home vacant for more than 10 days? (rental, house)
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We are looking to lease a single family home in NJ, found a nice one and agreed on the price.
Our agent sent us the lease agreement to sign and one clause caught my eye:
Quote:
3. The Premises are to be used and occupied solely by the Tenant for RESIDENTIAL PURPOSES ONLY. The Tenant shall not use the Premises for any business, professional or unlawful purpose. The Tenant must not allow the Premises to be vacant for more than 10 days at a time during the Term
That part about not leaving the house vacant for more than 10 days was surprising to me.
Is this a common feature in lease agreements in NJ? If so, why is such a clause required?
No. It isn't common anywhere. A friend was given a lease agreement that said that she could not leave for than five days. I told her not to take the house. It seemed odd to me.
There were other things. She couldn't have guests for more than two nights.
Since she had relatives several states away, this was also inconvenient.
I thought it was controlling and intrusive.
She took the house anyway and the landlord turned out to be an obnoxious control freak who dropped by the house at unusual times, paraded realtors through the house to find out the market value of the home and more.
He insisted upon mowing the lawn. Just another excuse to drop by.
She moved out after eight hellish months.
Who is he to say she can't have guests or go on vacation? Yes he owns the house, but when he accepts money from people who live there, it becomes their home.
People like that don't grasp the idea that you can't rent out a property that you own and retain total control of it.
Vacation is the first thing that popped in my mind. I've gone away for 2 week vacations before and some closer to the 10 day range. Why would they care if you went away for a prolonged period as long as your paying the rent. I'd say that's a deal breaker
Ask the owner what the purpose is for that 10-day rule and report back to us. I'm curious what the reason is. I have never heard of that. As others have said, if you are paying the rent why do they care whether or not you are physically in the house.
The more I think on this there are some people who even travel for work for periods longer than 10 days at a clip. Such an odd stipulation to have in there.
Makes you wonder if there are any other odd items in the lease. What does it say about guests or visitors?
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