Lease Comparison: Check Out What Makes a Great Lease 

The Lease Agreement is the most important document Landlords use. While there are a lot of Leases available online, they don’t all offer Landlords the same protection and peace of mind. 

To help you make sure you get the most out of your rental contract, here’s a look at what residential Lease Agreements should include and a comparison of some of the most popular online Leases. 

What Should Be Included in a Residential Lease Agreement 

Some people think of a Lease as just a way to outline basic terms – like the rent amount and rental period. However, a good Lease does a lot more than that. It lays the foundation for the Landlord and Tenant relationship and protects the Landlord if problems arise with the Tenant.. As a Landlord, you need a Lease that is: 

• Detailed and covers all rules and responsibilities of the rental relationship. This includes basics like rent amounts and late fees, but it also includes details like snow removal, pest control, and yard maintenance. A detailed Lease ensures that there’s no confusion about who is responsible for what and prevents common disputes between Landlords and Tenants. 
• State-specific and complies with all state laws. Each state has unique Landlord-Tenant laws, and the Lease must comply with all laws of the state where the rental property is located.
• Customizable to cover the unique rules of each rental unit. Policies for things like parking rules, smoking policies, tenant guest policies, pets, and amenities vary from property to property. A Lease Agreement needs to be customizable to cover all features, rules, and policies of each rental unit.
• Easy to read. A great Lease is not simply a legal formality that is signed and never referred to again. Instead, the best Leases are used to communicate all rental rules and policies to Tenants. It should be a document that Landlords and Tenants read and refer to throughout the rental relationship. For the Lease to serve this purpose, it needs to be written in plain language, not legal jargon. For example, rather than using lessor and lessee, saying Landlord and Tenant. 

In addition to these Lease requirements, most Landlords want a Lease that is easy to create, easy to sign, and easy to customize.  

Comparing Popular Online Residential Lease Agreements 

While we’re confident that our Lease is the best product for Landlords, it’s always helpful to look at competitors’ products to see how they measure up. With that in mind, here’s a comparison of 5 popular online Residential Lease Agreements. 

ezLandlordForms  Trustpilot Rating: 4.8

ezLandlordForms provides a full suite of property management tools including Tenant Screening, Lease Agreements, Rent Payments, and property management and eviction forms. 

Landlords can create a Lease online in minutes with the user-friendly Lease Builders. Here are some key features of ezLandlord’s Lease: 

• • State-specific. It automatically includes all state-required clauses and disclosures and is guaranteed to comply with all of your state’s Lease laws. 
  • State Assist Tips. As you build your Lease, you’ll get State Assist tips that point out important Landlord-Tenant laws in your state – for example, security deposit regulations, late fee policies, and rent increase laws.
  • Customizable. Landlords have the option to add custom text as needed. 
  • Detailed. Landlords create an entire Lease Package that covers details like snow removal, parking, pest control, and smoking policies. 
  • Selectable Rules and Regulations. Landlords can select items from a list of over 40 common rules and regulations and add applicable rules with just the click of a button. 
  • Selectable Addenda, Disclosures, and Additional Documents. Landlords can select from a list of over 60 common addenda, disclosures, and informational documents to include in their Lease Package.
  • Dynamic Table of Contents. The Lease includes a Table of Contents that makes it easy to see all items included in the Lease Package. This is automatically updated as you build your Lease. 
  • Electronic signing. Landlords and Tenants have unlimited access to ezSign, an electronic signing tool 
  • Access to unlimited chat support. 
  • Access to over 500 property management forms. Purchase of the Lease includes access to ezLandlordForms’ entire library of Landlord forms, including state-specific notices and eviction forms. 
  • Integration with other property management tools. Your property, Tenant, and rental information is auto-filled across ezLandlordForm’s tools – for example, a Rental Application, online Rent Payments, and property management forms. 
  • Easy to read. Our Lease is written in plain language, not legal jargon. It’s easy for Landlords and Tenatns to read and refer to throughout the rental relationship. 

Rocket Lawyer  Trustpilot Rating 4.6 

Rocket Lawyer provides online legal services. The site offers all types of legal forms and access to legal support. Included in Rocket Lawyer’s library of legal documents is a Lease Agreement. 

Here are some features of Rocket Lawyer’s Residential Lease: 

• State-specific. The site allows users to select their state, and the Lease includes all required disclosures and state-required language. 
• Customizable. Landlords have the option to add custom text as they create their Lease. 
• Electronic Signing. Landlords and Tenants can sign the Lease electronically. 
• Access to legal support and review. Users can use the platform to ask lawyers questions and have their Lease reviewed by a lawyer. 

Rocket Lawyer does not offer selectable rules or documents, State Assist tips, or integration with other property management documents and tools. 

eForms Trustpilot Rating 4.5

eForms offers printable and fillable legal forms. The eForms Lease Agreement is: 

• State-specific. Customers select their state and create a Lease with the state’s required language and disclosures. 
• Customizable. Landlords can add custom text. 
• Access to additional property management forms. Landlords who purchase a subscription have access to a library of property management forms and disclosures. 

eForms’ Leases cannot be signed electronically, they do not offer selectable rules or documents, and there’s no integration with other property management tools. 

LegalZoom Trust Pilot Rating 4.3

LegalZoom offers online legal forms for individuals and businesses. Features of LegalZoom’s Lease include: 

• State-specific. Leases are state-specific and include state-required language and disclosures.  
• Customizable. Landlords can add custom rules. 
• Access to Property Management Forms. With the purchase of a Lease Agreement, Landlords get access to 8 additional Landlord forms. 

LegalZoom’s Residential Lease does not include electronic signing, selectable rules or documents, or state-assist tips. 

Zillow  Trustpilot Rating 1.4 

Zillow Rental Manager offers property management tools including listings, rental applications, Leases, and rent collection. The Lease feature allows Landlords to either upload a Lease to the system or create a Lease. 

Here are some key features: 

• State-specific. Users create a Lease that includes state-required terms and rules. 
• Includes Selectable rules. Landlords have the option to select from a list of three rules that can be added to the Leases. 
• Customizable. Landlords can add their own rules and policies. 
• Additional documents can be uploaded. Landlords have the option of uploading documents like a move-in checklist or pet addendum. These documents are not created by Zillow, but if Landlords have them, they can upload them to use as attachments to their Lease. 
• Integration with other property management tools. Information from rental listings integrates with the Lease and Zillow’s rent collection 
• Electronic signing. Landlords and Tenants can sign the Lease electronically. 

Zillow does not offer selectable addenda, it only offers three selectable rules, and it does not provide state assist tips. Perhaps most concerning, Zillow’s customer reviews repeatedly raise concerns over outdated state laws and regulations, which can cause Leases to be unenforceable. 

Create a Great Lease in Minutes

We’re happy to confirm that our Lease still stands out as the best option for Landlords. Its features were all created with Landlords in mind, and every step of our Lease-creation process was finely tuned to make things as easy as possible for Landlords. 

Plus, we offer support for every phase of the Landlord lifecycle – from Tenant Screening to Move-Out. Visit ezLandlordForms.com to create an account or learn more about how we can handle all of your property management needs.