University of Virginia Library

Examine Clauses

Whether writing your own lease or signing
one written by the landlord, the tenant should
examine all clauses in the contract. The
handbook stresses that a tenant should be
aware of his responsibilities as stated in the
lease, as well as the landlord's obligation in
maintaining the property. It also recommends
not signing any contract until unacceptable
clauses have been removed and initialed on the
lease by both parties. The same applies to any
changes in the lease which are made later.

The specifics of terminating a lease vary. A
contract which states an exact termination date
may not require that the tenant give a notice of
his intent to terminate. According to the
handbook, "This is the only kind of lease that
the tenant may terminate without notifying his
landlord."

In the case of a lease which does require a
notice of termination, the booklet states, "If
the tenant fails to give this required notice, the
law will imply that he intended to renew his
lease, and he will be stuck with the lease for
another entire term," which is commonly one
year in Charlottesville.

If a dwelling does meet the standards of the
Charlottesville Housing Code, the landlord
could be asked in writing to make corrections.
If he neglects to do this, the tenant should
contact the Housing Authority to request that
an inspector be sent. These specific
responsibilities are included in sections 15-1
and 15-18 of the Code of the City of
Charlottesville.