Before a lease or rental can legally be initiated, a rental agreement must be arranged, and must then be consented to by both parties. Unless the lease is for longer than a year, the rental agreement is not required to be written. Nevertheless, for the sake of legal protection, rental agreements are normally created in writing. For this document to fulfill legal guidelines, it not only needs to be structured properly,but also may require proper wording and use of legal terms. A rental agreement that is not created properly can be damaging to both parties in the event of a serious dispute. As a result, for inexperienced landlords or those who simply cannot afford an attorney, a sample rental agreement can be used as a guideline too make sure their agreement uses both proper structure and wording. A sample rental agreement can normally be accessed from one of several sources ﾖ online, the chamber of commerce, real estate agencies, or even another trusted landlord.