I think lease agreements are more or less standard, and so if you have a good copy, you can just copy it and then have it notarized by a lawyer. This way, you save time and money because you don't ask your lawyer to do things from scratch. You just need his signature to make the document official. However, if the property to be leased has a more complicated arrangement, it may be wiser to actually consult a lawyer so as to make sure you are not missing out on important details.
We have used a generic lease agreement from online for a couple of tenants. However, I prefer for a tailored lease agreement from an attorney. I would not try to write a lease agreement myself.
My old man knew a lot about law [he'd always wanted to be a lawyer so he usually studied law in his free time]. He usually wrote his own lease agreements and I learned a bit from him. If I wanted to I could write such an agreement myself but since I want to be on the safe side of the law I'll normally let an attorney do that for me.
I've never been on the landlords position but in both of the apartments which I rented, the lease agreement was written by the landlord with no legal help. I guess it really depends on which country you live in. In some countries it's pretty easy to make a basic lease agreement, whereas in others forgetting a simple thing could lead to the tenant exploiting it. One thing you could do is get professional help for the first one, and then just modify it yourself for other apartments/tenants.
Not only do the attorney cost so much but you have to make sure that they got all the info done for you. I would make certain to have multiple copies of the agreement. I just hate hearing the idea of attorney fees since every attorney I see in my area has this big shot ego about them.
Lease agreements do not have to be in writing to be legally binding, but enforcing oral agreements is much more difficult. Invest time in preparing a lease agreement that protects your rights as a landlord and recognizes those of your tenants. If you do decide to write one by yourself, always include disclaimers to your do-it-yourself agreement. For instance, include a clause that states that any "mistakes" in the agreement do not cancel the rest of the document. Writing a lease agreement is a specialized skill, usually done by lawyers. Although you can write a lease agreement on your own, you should consider paying a lawyer for a professionally drafted agreement. This will provide extra security if you try to evict your tenants, and their lawyers scrutinize your lease agreement.
When we do have a lease we use a very general lease agreement that covers most of the basics. There are areas where you can add more specific things, say for instance you want to allow dogs up to a certain weight or the ability for the tenant to install a washer and dryer. A huge issue these days seem to be allowing tenants to garden on the property. When you make changes like that you really have to be clear on what the law might be, and more importantly what you are willing to do if the rule is broken. You have to be very specific on that portion. Case in point we have a standing rule that in the Condo's the residents can only have a pet with the max weight of 35 lbs. Well there was some controversy that an owner had a pet that was larger. The owner brought in a vet certificate that stated the dog weight was 37 lbs. What do you do spend hundreds of dollars in legal fees to get them out? Put the pooch on a diet? Some battles are not worth fighting, so think it over before you make to many difficult to enforce rules on a lease.
Over here, there is a law that regulates rentals such that in the absence of a contract, that law would take over. For instance, the increase cannot be more than 20% in a year although it is not really pushed by landlords because that is burdensome to the tenant. Our last renting was in 2001. We rented a house for 5 years and we were fortunate because the owner is our family friend so we didn't experience any rent increase.
