Rental Housing Terminology 101

Property management comes with myriad rules and regulations that can be difficult to follow. It also comes with its own vocabulary. Intent to rent? Compliance notice? Here are just a few of the more common terms:

Intent to rent: After an application is approved, the intent to rent is signed. This is a legally binding promissory note that spells out the “nuts and bolts” of the lease, such as lease start and end dates, rental amount, and parties to the lease. The intent to rent becomes part of the more detailed full lease, signed after the intent to rent is complete.

Fixed Term Lease: This lease has a definite beginning and end, unlike a month-to-month agreement. A month-to-month agreement does not have a specific end date and automatically renews at the end of each month.

First-in-Time (FIT): This regulation requires housing providers to offer tenancy to the first qualified, completed applicant.

Compliance Notices: A written document required by law to be physically delivered when a tenant violates the terms of the lease. Compliance notices were not allowed during the Covid moratorium and have very specific guidelines for serving.

Just Cause: This regulation requires housing providers to identify a specific reason why they are terminating, or in Seattle, not renewing the lease. Just cause reasons for terminating/not renewing tenancy must be carefully documented and include failure to pay rent, noncompliance with lease, and illegal activity.

Always feel free to reach out to your property manager if there’s a word or phrase you’re unfamiliar with in any of our documents or communication.