The standard document for housing agreements in Pittsburgh is a one-year lease. Before you sign any lease agreement, read it carefully and make sure you understand the terms of the lease. If you do not fully understand the terms and conditions, take the document to someone who is qualified to give legal advice. The most common terms and conditions contained in standard leases are described below. You may be required to pay a deposit to account for any potential damages created by you.
Problems often arise between landlord and tenant when it comes time to refund the security deposit.
One reason is that most leases only make vague reference to the circumstances under which the security deposit, or a portion thereof, will be returned. If a lease is signed in the spring, stating that the tenant agrees that the premises are in good order, such may not be the case when it comes time to occupy in the fall. Therefore, a prospective tenant should ask that a clause be put in the lease that states that the landlord and occupants will jointly inspect the premises upon occupancy, and will jointly sign a check-list of the premises' condition at that time. In this manner, the tenant will be less likely to be charged for damages that were there before moving in. Thus, it is important that your lease has a clause that allows you to sublet.