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Delaware residential lease agreement

Answer the questions, download the lease. Free, no account, and it holds your figures to what Delaware allows.

What Delaware law does to your lease

These are the figures the builder holds you to. Each one is the statute's, not ours, and the citation is there so you can read it yourself.

RuleDelawareWhere it says so
Most a landlord may take as a deposit1 month's rent on a term, no limit month to monthThe one-month cap is written for agreements of a year or more. A month-to-month tenancy has no cap in its first year, but after a year the landlord must immediately credit back anything above one month's rent. A pet deposit of up to one month's rent sits on top, whatever the term.25 Del. C. 5514(a)
Earliest a late fee may be charged5 days after rent is due25 Del. C. 5501(d)
Most a late fee may be5% of the rentDelaware also requires the landlord to keep an office or other permanent place in the county where rent can be paid on time; without one the tenant gets three extra days before rent is late.25 Del. C. 5501(d)
Notice before the landlord may enter48 hoursEntry only between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., and no notice is needed for a repair the tenant asked for.25 Del. C. 5509(b)
Notice to end a month-to-month tenancy60 daysThe 60 days run from the first day of the month after the notice is actually given, so a notice given mid-month buys the other side most of an extra month.25 Del. C. 5106(d)

What Delaware makes you disclose

Who owns the rental unit
The written rental agreement must disclose prominently the names and usual business addresses of every owner of the rental unit or the property, and the landlord must give the tenant a copy of the agreement at no charge. 25 Del. C. 5105
Summary of the Landlord-Tenant Code
At the beginning of the rental term the landlord must give a new tenant the summary of the Landlord-Tenant Code prepared by the Consumer Protection Unit of the Attorney General's Office. A landlord who does not is met with the tenant's defence that they did not know the law. 25 Del. C. 5118

The clause most landlords get wrong

Rent stated as a base figure with mandatory fees bolted on beside it. If a fee is not optional, it is rent, and several states now say so outright: the lease has to carry one total figure that the landlord may not charge above. The builder asks for the total and then asks how much of it is fees, which is the same information in the order the law wants it.

The second is the assistance animal. A no-pets clause that does not carve one out is a fair-housing problem, not a pet problem, and no pet rent or pet deposit may be charged for one. Your lease says so whether or not you allow pets.

After it is signed

Download the PDF and it is yours, account or not. If you want the tenant to sign it without printing anything, a free Kouzr account sends it for signature, files the executed copy against the tenancy, and keeps it beside the listing, the rent record and the deposit accounting, so the paperwork for that home is in one place when the tenancy ends.

Is this Delaware lease legally binding?

A written lease signed by the landlord and every adult tenant is a contract, and this one is built to say what Delaware requires a residential lease to say. What it is not is legal advice, and no lawyer has reviewed it. It is a form you complete yourself, the same category as the fill-in-the-blank lease sold in an office supply shop, and it is worth having a lawyer in your state read it before you rely on it, especially on a property you will hold for years.

How much can a landlord charge as a security deposit in Delaware?

Delaware caps every deposit taken together at 1 month's rent on a term, no limit month to month (25 Del. C. 5514(a)). That is the total of the security deposit, any pet deposit, and any last month's rent held as a deposit, not each of them separately. The builder holds your figure to that ceiling and tells you when it has. The one-month cap is written for agreements of a year or more. A month-to-month tenancy has no cap in its first year, but after a year the landlord must immediately credit back anything above one month's rent. A pet deposit of up to one month's rent sits on top, whatever the term.

Can a landlord charge a late fee in Delaware?

Yes, but not without limit. Delaware allows no late fee until 5 days after rent is due, and caps it at 5% of the rent (25 Del. C. 5501(d)). A fee charged earlier or larger than that is not enforceable, and the rest of the lease still stands. Delaware also requires the landlord to keep an office or other permanent place in the county where rent can be paid on time; without one the tenant gets three extra days before rent is late.

How much notice does a landlord have to give before entering in Delaware?

48 hours for anything that is not an emergency, at a reasonable hour (25 Del. C. 5509(b)). A lease cannot shorten it, so the builder raises your figure if you enter a smaller one. Genuine emergencies need no notice anywhere. Entry only between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., and no notice is needed for a repair the tenant asked for.

How much notice ends a month-to-month tenancy in Delaware?

60 days of written notice from either side (25 Del. C. 5106(d)). The builder writes that figure into the term clause. A lease may agree on longer notice than the statute; one that gives less is unenforceable to that extent, and the statutory period governs instead. The 60 days run from the first day of the month after the notice is actually given, so a notice given mid-month buys the other side most of an extra month.

Do I have to include a lead-based paint disclosure?

Only if the home was built before 1978, and then yes, everywhere in the country. Federal law requires the landlord to disclose known lead-based paint, hand over any report they have, and give the tenant the EPA pamphlet before the tenant is committed to the lease (42 U.S.C. 4852d). Enter the year built and the builder attaches it for you.

Can I have the tenant sign it online?

Yes. Download the PDF and sign it however you like, or make a free Kouzr account and send it to the tenant for signature from here: they get a link, sign on a phone, and the executed copy files itself against the tenancy alongside rent and the deposit record. The PDF is free either way and does not require an account.

Kouzr is not a law firm and this is not legal advice. The builder produces a form you complete yourself, and no lawyer has reviewed the document it assembles. Have one admitted in Delaware read it before you rely on it.