Idaho Residential Lease Agreement
An Idaho lease agreement defines the relationship between a landlord and tenant when renting property. Leases should lay out the expectations for landlords and tenants during the rental term to avoid miscommunication among the parties involved.
Leases should include:
- The names of all parties
- Rent payment amount, due date, and acceptable payment methods
- Security deposit details
- The pet policy, if applicable
We’ll dive into why landlords should understand landlord-tenant law before getting into the nuts and bolts of Idaho residential lease agreements and the rules that dictate how landlords should write them.
Idaho Lease Agreement
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Idaho Landlord-Tenant Law
Landlord-tenant laws are rules and regulations governing the rights and responsibilities of landlords and renters. These laws dictate security deposits, the eviction process, and landlord/tenant legal protections.
If landlords don’t follow these rules closely, the court system could find their leases invalid, so they should fully understand the language they can and cannot use. To speed up the process, TurboTenant’s Idaho lease agreement template enables landlords to create a new lease in minutes. Plus, we legally reviewed it to help Idaho landlords gain compliance with applicable state laws.
Required Landlord Disclosures (1)
Disclosures are additional information landlords must inform tenants of at or before lease signing.
- Lead Paint: Federal law requires landlords to inform tenants of the knowledge of any lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards in any unit built before 1978.
Security Deposit Regulations
Maximum Security Deposit Amount: In Idaho, there is no state-mandated limit on the amount a landlord can charge for security deposits.
Receipt of Deposit: Landlords are not required to provide a receipt for the security deposit, but it is good practice to do so. Units managed by a third party must maintain security deposits in a separate account at a federally insured financial institution (ID Code § 6-321(4)).
Deduction Tracking: Landlords may withhold funds from the security deposit only for reasons explicitly written into the lease agreement. When they return the remainder of the deposit, they should provide an itemized list of those deductions. Deductions are not allowed for repairs or cleaning related to normal wear and tear (ID Code § 6-321(1)).
Returning a Tenant’s Security Deposit: If not specified in the lease agreement, security deposits must be returned within 21 days. If the lease contains language concerning the return of the deposit, that timeframe cannot exceed 30 days (ID Code § 6-321(1)).
Landlord’s Access to Property
Advance Notice: There is no law in Idaho requiring landlords to provide advance notice to enter a tenant’s unit. However, the notice period should be reasonable and only for property inspections, maintenance/repairs, or emergencies.
Immediate Access: Landlords in Idaho may enter a unit without prior notice in case of emergency.
Landlord Harassment: If a landlord repeatedly enters a tenant’s unit at unreasonable times or an unreasonable amount, the landlord could be held liable for landlord harassment. Tenants may obtain a court order to ban the landlord from entering, recover court costs and attorney fees, and potentially end the lease early and without penalty (ID Code § 6-324).
Rent Payment Laws
Grace Period: Idaho has no mandatory grace period for rent payments.
Late Rent Fees: There is no limit on the amount landlords can charge for late fees. However, the lease agreement should outline them.
Tenant’s Right to Withhold Rent: Unlike many states, Idaho does not allow tenants to withhold rent for repairs or to “repair and deduct.” However, tenants may be able to cancel the lease agreement if landlords do not make necessary repairs under the implied warranty of habitability legal theory.
Breach of Rental Agreement
Missed Rent Payment: When a tenant misses a rent payment, Idaho landlords may issue a 3-day notice to pay or quit (Idaho Code § 6-303(2)).
Lease Violation: Idaho landlords can issue a 3-day notice to cure or quit for most lease violations. However, if the tenant causes significant property damage on the property or sublets the rental unit without permission, the landlord may issue a 3-day notice to quit. They do not have to allow the tenant to cure the violation (Idaho Code § 6-303).
Self-Help Evictions: Idaho landlords should never attempt self-help evictions by removing a tenant on their own. Landlords should always follow the legal eviction process to remove a tenant.
Lease Abandonment: Idaho tenants who attempt to end a lease early without a legally valid reason could be responsible for the entire rent left on the lease term, loss of security deposit, and civil lawsuits.
Ending a Lease
Month-to-Month: Idaho landlords or tenants must provide at least 30 days’ written notice to end a month-to-month lease (Idaho Code § 55-208).
Fixed-Term: Idaho tenants who wish to end their lease early and without penalty may only do so if they meet a qualifying condition. These conditions include entering active military duty, uninhabitable living conditions, landlord harassment, and retaliation.
Property Abandonment: No specific legislation describes what a landlord should do with a tenant’s abandoned property.
Renewing a Lease
Required Renewals: Idaho landlords do not have to renew a tenant’s lease when the lease term ends. However, according to federal law, landlords cannot refuse to renew a lease for discriminatory or retaliatory reasons.
Required Notice: Idaho landlords must provide at least 30 days’ written notice when they want to end a month-to-month lease. For fixed-term leases, the lease will end on the last day of the term as specified in the lease. Landlords are not required to provide additional notice.
Rent Control & Stabilization
Idaho has no rent control laws on the books, meaning landlords can raise the rent to whatever amount they’d like once the lease ends. For month-to-month leases, landlords must notify the tenant of an intended rent increase by the 15th of the month at the latest. Idaho laws also forbid any local community from enacting their rent control laws. (Idaho Code § 55-307).
Idaho Lease Agreement FAQs
Does a landlord have to provide a copy of the lease in Idaho?
Idaho landlords are not required to provide a copy of the lease agreement; however, it is considered good practice to do so.
What is the grace period for rent in Idaho?
There is no legally required grace period for rent in Idaho.
Can a landlord refuse to renew a lease in Idaho?
Idaho landlords are not obligated to renew a tenant’s lease once the term expires.
Does an Idaho lease need to be notarized?
Idaho leases do not need to be notarized. Once both parties sign them, they are considered legally valid.
Can you withhold rent for repairs in Idaho?
Tenants are not legally allowed to withhold rent for repairs in Idaho. However, the tenant may have some legal recourse for necessary repairs that threaten the unit’s habitability, but it is limited.