Walk into your attorney already ready.

The plain-words version

Every clause, in sentences a normal person says out loud. A few from page one and page four:

1. You rent Unit 2B at Maple Court for 12 months, starting June 1, at $1,450 a month. Section 2, page 1
2. Rent is due on the 1st. After the 3rd, a $75 late fee hits, plus $15 for every extra day, with no cap. Section 4, page 1
3. Your $1,450 deposit comes back within 30 days of move-out, minus anything the landlord decides is damage. Section 9, page 4
4. If you do not tell them in writing 60 days before the lease ends, it renews for another full year on its own. Section 11, page 4

Where it bites, ranked

#1 · $1,450The deposit has no inspection rule. Section 9 lets the landlord keep any part of the deposit for "damage as determined by Landlord." There is no move-in checklist and no photo requirement, so there is nothing to prove the scuffs were already there.

#2 · $17,400Silent renewal for a full year. Miss the 60-day written notice and you owe twelve more months of rent.

#3 · open-endedA late fee with no ceiling. $15 a day keeps running for as long as rent is late. Ten extra days late adds $150 on top of the $75.

What to ask for, and the words to ask in

1. A signed move-in checklist with photos. "Before I sign, can we add a move-in checklist we both sign, with dated photos attached, and agree that anything on it is not charged to my deposit?"
2. Renewal by choice, not by silence. "Can the lease go month to month at the end instead of renewing for a year, or can the notice window drop to 30 days?"
3. A cap on late fees. "Can the daily late fee stop at $100 total per month?"

Questions for your attorney

So the hour you pay for goes to deciding, not reading.

1. Does our state limit how long a landlord has to return a deposit, and does that override the 30 days in Section 9?
2. Is an uncapped daily late fee enforceable here, or is there a legal limit?
3. If I give notice by email instead of a mailed letter, does that count as "in writing" under Section 11?

The one-page summary

For the partner, the spouse or the roommate.

• What it is: a 12-month apartment lease, $1,450 a month, $1,450 deposit.
• Biggest risk: the landlord alone decides what counts as damage, so the whole deposit is at risk.
• Date to put on the calendar: April 1, the last day to give written notice before it renews for another year.
• Before signing: ask for the move-in checklist, the renewal change and the late-fee cap.