Tenant Handbook - Understand Your Lease

Tenant Liaison:

Every lease has one Tenant Liaison. The tenant Liaison is the person that should be making any payments (per the lease), through the online tenant portal. The Liaison is the only person on the lease that will receive communication from Agent and the only person that will communicate with Agent.

Payments:

*All payments should be made from the tenant Liaison.

Security Deposit: The deposit must be paid upon ratification of the lease. The deposit should be submitted immediately.
Rent Payment: Tenant Liaison pays rent via electronic deposit, through the online tenant portal. First month's rent is due on the first day of the lease.
Required Payment Type: The only type of payment we accept are electronic ACH direct deposits through the Tenant Portal, or as otherwise instructed by Landlord/Agent.

Charges:

Late Charge (Rent): The Landlord has taxes, mortgage, and expenses to pay so the rent must be paid on-time. If rent is paid late, Tenant shall pay, additional to the rent, a late charge in the amount of five percent (5%) of the amount due. This is non-negotiable.
Returned Payment: If a payment is returned, a non-negotiable service charge of $75 will be billed to the tenant. This applies to each instance in which a check or electronic payment is dishonored for any reason.
Utilities: When moving in, if Tenant fails to initiate utility service (refer to your lease to see your utility responsibility) by the Lease Commencement Date, a $195 fee will be billed to Tenant. When moving out, if Tenant fails to disconnect utilities (DO NOT DISCONNECT UTILITIES PRIOR TO 11:59PM ON YOUR LEASE END DATE. EVEN IF YOU ARE MOVING OUT EARLY, YOU MUST MAINTAIN THE UTILITIES IN YOUR NAME UNTIL 11:59PM ON YOUR LEASE END DATE), a $195 fee will be billed to Tenant. If Tenant cancels service prior to the Lease Expiration Date, a $195 fee will be billed to Tenant and Tenant may be responsible for Damage caused by cancelling service prior to Lease Expiration Date.
Keys/Move-in: Each Tenant will be provided with one set of keys to the Premises. Additional keys may be purchased for a $45 administrative fee. One mailbox key per lease will be provided (this is a total of one key).
Keys/Move-out: If Tenant fails to return all copies of the keys and other related items at the expiration of the Lease, Tenant will be responsible for a $95 administrative fee, and the cost to change the locks or replacing unreturned items. In the event the locks are changed by Tenant, Landlord/Agent and any Tenant should be notified immediately and receive a copy of the new key within 24 hours.
Move-out Time: Tenant must completely vacate the Premises before 12:00 pm Noon EST on the Lease Expiration Date. If Tenant has not vacated by 12:00pm EST, a $450 fee will be charged to the Tenant as a service charge.
Move-in/Out Fees (applicable to Properties Managed By HOA): If the building has any move-in/move-out fees, the Tenant is responsible for coordinating with the building to pay this fee.
Repairs: Refer to our maintenance policy to avoid unnecessary cost. Tenant shall pay a $45 administrative fee for each service call, repair, and maintenance or replacement request.
Pets: If Tenant violates the “no pets” provision of the Lease, Tenant agrees to pay, as a service fee $200 per month per animal for each month violation exists, in additional to any damages, physical or otherwise, which in the opinion of Landlord were caused by the unauthorized animal on premises.
Sublets: Pending Landlord approval, a Tenant may sublet this lease. a $400 fee for processing the new lease and application will be billed to Tenant.

Move-in/Out

**Refer To This Link For Instructions On Establishing/Cancelling Utilities

Utilities: Refer to your lease to review your utility responsibility. Contact the utility companies to establish service by your lease start date and cancel them on (not before) your lease end date. Refer Here For Additional Language On Your Lease Charges.
Keys/Move-in: Each Tenant will be provided with one set of keys to the Premises. One mailbox key per lease will be provided (this is a total of one key)
Keys/Move-out: Tenant must leave all keys on kitchen counter (unless otherwise directed by Agent). Tenant fails to return all copies of the keys and other related items at the expiration of the Lease, Tenant will be responsible for a $95 administrative fee, and the cost to change the locks or replacing unreturned items. In the event the locks are changed by Tenant, Landlord/Agent and any Tenant should be notified immediately and receive a copy of the new key within 24 hours.
Move-in Time: Move-in’s may take place any time after 2:00 pm EST on the Lease Commencement Date. The Tenant cannot enter the Premises prior to this date/time.
Move-out Time: Tenant must completely vacate the Premises before 12:00 pm Noon EST on the Lease Expiration Date.
Condition Of Property: Tenant must submit online form provided within one week from Lease Commencement Date to note any wear and tear in the property. The purpose of this is to give the Tenant an opportunity to document wear and tear when they move in so they are not billed for it when they move-out. The property is delivered to Tenant in "As Is Condition" unless otherwise mentioned in the additional provision section of the lease. Most properties will have some work performed prior to the lease start date (Only items considered damage will be repaired. Normal wear and tear will not be repaired).
Scheduling Building Move-in/Move-out (applicable to Properties Managed By HOA): For properties managed by HOA (Home Owners Associations), they might require the Tenant to schedule their move-in/move-out directly with the building. You might also need to reserve the elevator or loading doc. The Tenant is responsible for coordinating this directly with the building.
Move-out Damage: In some cases, Tenants might attempt to repair damage, prior to leaving. Tenants are allowed to do this but we strongly recommend a professional company is used. There are many times when the "repair work" performed makes the damage worse and creates more expense for the Tenant. For example, any nail the size of a picture nail is not considered Damage and will not be deducted from the Tenant's deposit. If the Tenant attempts to spackle or patch the hole, it will require Landlord to re-paint the entire wall and Tenant will be billed for this. If the Tenant tries to use touch-up paint on walls and the touch up paint does not match, the entire wall will be re-painted and the Tenant will be billed. Our goal is to deduct as little as possible from a Tenant's deposit so we want to provide as much information on this as possible. Refer to this link for additional details

Repairs

*Refer To This Helpful Article On Our Maintenance Policy

Requesting Repairs: Repair requests must be submitted through the tenant portal. If the request is not submitted through the portal, we are not authorized to assess the repair. If the repair is an emergency, submit a request through the portal and contact our after hours emergency line at 202-400-3685 (for after hours requests only).
Building Repairs:
* If you live in a condo unit, the building might need to get involved in the repair. This will extend the length of time needed to complete the repair. We do what we can to speed the process along but we are not in any way connected to the HOA so we do not have control over this process.
1. HVAC: Some buildings centrally control the HVAC. If this is the case with your unit, any issues with the HVAC must be submitted to the building. To find out if your HVAC is controlled by the building, check section 20. of your lease, under the section titled "By Landlord". If a maintenance request is submitted for HVAC, and we send a repair tech, and the building is responsible, the Tenant will be billed for the cost.
2. Water Leak: If you live in a condo building and there is a leak coming in from the unit above, contact the building first and then submit a maintenance request for us. In most cases, the building will be responsible for this repair.
3. Electric: If there is a power outage in your unit, check with the electric utility company to see if there is an outage and then check with the building manager. If the issue is only affects your unit, submit a maintenance request.
Tenant Maintenance Responsibility: Living in a condo or property owned by a Landlord is very different than living in a full service apartment building. In a full service apartment building, repairs are baked into the cost of the rent. In a property or apartment owned by a Landlord, these costs are not baked in. Therefore, there is additional responsibilty and steps that the Tenant must take in order to not be billed for a service call. Refer to this article for additional details.
Time-line: Non Emergency repairs are responded to within 24-48 hours and completed within 48-72 hours after the initial response. The response time and time to complete the repair depends on the availability of parts/contractors.
Property Access: We will provide notice prior to sending a contractor. The dates/times are dictated by the contractors. In most cases, the Tenant does not need to be home for the work to be completed. The contractors we work with provide us with a 3-8 hour window of time - exact times cannot be provided to tenant.