Fillable Form Tenant's Cancellation Rider to Lease Agreement

What is a Tenant's Cancellation to Lease Agreement?

A Tenant’s Cancellation to Lease Agreement is a document used to give tenants the right to cancel their lease of the premises by providing a written notice through certified mail to the landlord a minimum of 60 days before the lease is canceled. The form itself is intended to be given alongside a Residential Lease Agreement, which is a separate form that both parties must sign to agree to the leasing of a property.

A Residential Lease Agreement, or simply a Rental Agreement, is a written document stating the agreement between a Tenant, or Lessee and a Landowner, or Lessor, that contains the terms of the tenant’s lease of a property. Such agreements are created in order to properly detail the responsibilities of both owner and resident in the management and use of a particular property.

Lease agreements often take place over a longer period of time than rental agreements, often covering anywhere from six months to a year as opposed to rental agreements that usually only take a month or two. Because of this longer time period, lease agreements often have much more detailed conditions and rules that must be followed, and the terms are not as easy to negotiate due to the length of time of the agreement.

A Tenant’s Cancellation Rider to Lease Agreement is needed in order to give the tenant an avenue to cancel their lease should they wish to for any reason. Oftentimes, it is because the Tenant has found or purchased another property and is planning to move.

The agreement outlines any conditions attached to a Tenant’s cancellation of their lease. Such conditions often include requiring that a notice be given to the Landlord of their intention to cancel their lease a minimum amount of time before their intended lease cancellation, and that the lease cancellation will only apply to the current lease and not any future leases.

Cancellation agreements are needed for leases because the general length of a lease means that when a Tenant cancels their lease, the Landlord will likely need to find a new Tenant to lease the property to make up for the tenant that they are losing. It is for this reason that most lease cancellation agreements require the notice to be sent within a minimum amount of time before the cancellation, such as 60 or 30 days before the lease is canceled. It is then also the Tenant’s responsibility to ensure that the property is as clean, organized, and vacant as possible, for the benefit of any future lessees that move into the property after them.

Violation of the terms outlined in the lease cancellation agreement will often result in incurring consequences that are outlined in the agreement itself. Often, this will involve either additional fees, or simply not considering the attempt to cancel the lease as valid. These consequences may change based on the terms of the agreement, however.

Who needs to use a Tenant's Cancellation to Lease Agreement?

A Landlord has the responsibility to provide a Tenant's Cancellation Rider to Lease Agreement Form for a Tenant to sign alongside the Residential Lease Agreement. The Tenant must then take note of the terms outlined in both forms and sign both.

How to fill out a Tenant's Cancellation to Lease Agreement?

The Tenant's Cancellation Rider to Lease Agreement Template is a very short and simple form to fill out. Make sure to download it in PDF before printing it to ensure that the contents and format remain intact when it is given alongside the Residential Lease Agreement.

As with the Residential Lease Agreement, make sure that both the Tenant and the Landlord are aware of and accept the terms outlined in this form before signing it.

Lease Dated

Enter the date of the lease.

Lease Term

Enter the period of time that the lease will remain in effect, per the Residential Lease Agreement.

Landlord

Enter the Landlord’s full name.

Tenant

Enter the Tenant’s full name.

Address of Leased Property (Premises)

Enter the following information on the address of the leased property:

• Number
• Street
• City
• State

Agreement Terms

This paragraph outlines some of the conditions that must be fulfilled when sending a lease cancellation notice to the Landlord. These conditions are as follows:

• The early termination date of the least must be the last day of the calendar month
• The Tenant must give the Landlord a written notice at least 60 days prior to the early termination date, which will be specified in the given notice.
• The notice must be sent through certified mail, return receipt requested, to the Landlord at a particular address. Provide the following information on the address that the notice must be sent to:
  • Number
  • Street
  • City
  • State

In addition, the following terms must be kept in mind as part of the agreement:

1. If the Tenant provides less than 60 days of prior notice, or otherwise fails to comply with any of the conditions of this agreement, the early termination notice will not be considered valid and the lease will continue as normal.
2. The Tenant must return the property (premises) to the Landlord completely vacant, clean, in as close to the same condition that it was in when they first occupied it as possible (excluding ordinary wear and tear).
3. The Tenant agrees to allow the Landlord and their agents and representatives to enter the property to show it to prospective renters or lessees. The Landlord will make their best effort to inform the Tenant of any such visits, but is not obligated to give such notices before entering, and may enter the property regardless of whether or not the Tenant is present to allow them in. To this effect, the Tenant must supply the Landlord with all keys necessary to gain access to all parts of the property.
4. The right to terminate the lease early only applies to the term of the current lease agreement. In the event that the lease is renewed, a new lease cancellation agreement will need to be drafted and signed.

Landlord’s Name and Signature

Have the Landlord sign the form and enter their full name in the space provided.

Tenant’s Name and Signature

Have the Tenant sign the form and enter their full name in the space provided.

Tips when filling out a Tenant's Cancellation to Lease Agreement

The Tenant's Cancellation Rider to Lease Agreement PDF is a very simple and short form to fill out. However, as it is a legal agreement, it is vital to review all parts of the agreement, and not just the ones with spaces that require information to be entered.

Review the terms of the agreement. Make sure that you have read and understood all parts of the agreement before signing it.

Consider getting legal advice. While it is not required to have a lawyer or attorney read the agreement in order to properly sign one, the importance of reading and understanding each part of the agreement and ensuring that each part of it is acceptable means that having a legal expert to consult regarding the terms in the agreement is a great benefit.

Notarization. As with legal advice, having the agreement notarized is not required as part of filling out and signing a rental agreement, but you may wish to pursue it anyway. In this case to prevent fraud on either side, and to assure both parties that the other is aware of the terms and is signing the agreement of their own will.

Practice good contract management. Keep a copy of the agreement in a safe and organized space. This will be useful in case you wish to review or renegotiate the terms at some point in the future. Some legal procedures may also require that either or both the owner and the resident produce copies of the lease cancellation agreement.