Delaware Rental Lease Agreement Forms

Every Delaware lease agreement must follow the state rules below. All rental lease agreement forms in Delaware must match them, and the builder above creates a document that already does.

Delaware Laws and Lease Requirements

Delaware's landlord-tenant law is set out in Title 25 of the Delaware Code, mainly Sections 5301 through 5317 and Sections 5106 through 5107 of the Residential Landlord-Tenant Code. These sections cover security deposits, notice periods for ending a lease, required disclosures, repair duties, utility billing, and bed bug rules, and every rule below names the exact section it comes from.

The Residential Landlord-Tenant Code (Title 25, Sections 5101 to 5907) regulates the rights and obligations under every residential rental agreement in the state, and commercial rental agreements are excluded (Section 5101).^[1.1]

Security Deposit

Delaware sets a clear deadline for returning a tenant's security deposit after the lease ends.

Within 20 days after the rental agreement ends, the landlord must give the tenant an itemized list of any damage to the property and the estimated cost to repair each item. The landlord must then pay back the difference between the deposit and those repair costs.^[3]

Within 20 days after the termination or expiration of any rental agreement, the landlord shall provide the tenant with an itemized list of damages to the premises and the estimated costs of repair for each and shall tender payment for the difference between the security deposit and such costs of repair of damage to the premises.

For a lease of one year or more, and for a month-to-month tenancy after its first year, the deposit may not exceed one month's rent (Section 5514(a)). The cap does not apply to furnished units.^[3.1]

Section 5514 also requires the landlord to tell the tenant where the security deposit escrow account is held. If the landlord does not disclose it within 20 days of the tenant's written request, the deposit is forfeited to the tenant.^[3.2]

Ending a Lease in Delaware

How much notice a lease needs before it ends depends on why it is ending and what kind of tenancy it is. The rules below come from Delaware's landlord-tenant statutes. Use FormsPal's deadline calculator to count any of these notice periods from the day you send or receive the notice.

• If a condition the landlord must fix is not fixed within 15 days after the tenant gives notice, the tenant may end the lease.
• Where the landlord's violation is one the statute treats as a repeat problem, the tenant may end the rental agreement by giving at least 15 days' written notice that states the violation and the termination date.^[2.2]
• A lease may also be ended on 30 days' written notice, with the 30-day period starting on the first day of the month after the notice is given.^[2.10]
• For a month-to-month tenancy, either the landlord or the tenant may end it by giving the other side at least 60 days' written notice, starting on the first day of the month after the notice is given.
• To not renew a fixed-term lease, the landlord must give the tenant at least 60 days' written notice before the term expires.
• A tenant who does not want to renew a fixed-term lease must give the landlord at least 60 days' written notice before the term expires.
• To renew the lease with changed terms, such as a different rent or deposit, the landlord must give the tenant at least 60 days' written notice of the change before the current term expires.^[1]

Required Disclosures

Delaware law requires a rental unit to meet a lead-safety standard before it is leased, and the Landlord-Tenant Code also requires the written disclosures below.

• The landlord must provide a rental unit that is free of lead-based paint hazards and certified as lead-safe or lead-free, as Chapter 54 of Title 25 requires.^[2.3]
• Under Section 5105, each written rental agreement must prominently list the names and usual business addresses of the owners or their resident agents, so the tenant knows where to send notices or repair requests.^[1.2]
• Under Section 5118, the landlord must give a new tenant the summary of the Landlord-Tenant Code prepared by the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Unit at the beginning of the rental term.^[1.3]

Federal law also requires the landlord of housing built before 1978 to give the tenant the EPA lead hazard pamphlet, disclose any known lead-based paint or lead hazards, and include a lead warning statement in or attached to the lease before the tenant is bound (42 U.S.C. 4852d and 40 CFR 745.113).^[4.1]

Landlord Repair Duties

When a tenant gives written notice of a problem the landlord must fix, the law sets deadlines for the landlord's response.

• The landlord has 10 days from receiving the notice to start reasonable corrective measures, such as getting an estimate of the repair cost.
• The landlord has 30 days from receiving the notice to actually fix the problem.^[2.4]
• If the failure involves an essential service and continues for 48 hours or more after the tenant's notice, the tenant has remedies under the law.^[2.5]

Landlords must also keep the records of each rental application for at least 6 months.^[2.6]

Tenant Protections Under Delaware Law

Delaware law blocks a landlord from putting certain terms in a lease and gives tenants remedies when a landlord breaks specific rules.

• A lease cannot ask the tenant to give up rights or remedies under the Landlord-Tenant Code. If a landlord knowingly tries to enforce a term like this, the tenant can sue for an amount equal to three months' rent, plus court costs but not attorney's fees.^[2.1]
• Except for an optional service fee for something like a pool or tennis court, a landlord cannot charge a tenant a nonrefundable fee just to move in.^[2.7]
• If a tenant is unlawfully locked out or removed from the unit, the tenant may recover triple the actual damages, or three times the daily rent for each day of the lockout, whichever is more, plus court costs but not attorney's fees.^[2.9]
• If a landlord takes a prohibited action against a tenant within 90 days of the tenant reporting domestic abuse, a sexual offense, or stalking, the law presumes the landlord's action was retaliation unless the landlord proves otherwise.^[2.11]

Under Section 5509(b), the landlord must give the tenant at least 48 hours' notice before entering, except for repairs the tenant requested, and may enter only between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. In an emergency the landlord may enter at any time.^[3.3]

Utility Billing Rules

When a landlord bills a tenant separately for utilities, several rules apply to protect the tenant from unfair charges.

• The landlord cannot charge more than the actual cost of the utility service, based on what the provider charges the landlord.
• The landlord must bill for these charges at least once a month.
• The landlord cannot send more than 2 consecutive estimated bills in a row.
• The landlord cannot cut off a tenant's utility service over nonpayment of rent, nonpayment of utility charges, or any other breach.
• The landlord must keep the bills and records behind these charges for at least 1 year from the date the tenant was billed.^[2.8]

Bed Bug Rules for Delaware Rentals

Delaware has detailed rules for checking a unit for bed bugs before it is rented and for responding once a tenant reports a possible infestation.

• Before renting a unit, the owner or property manager must visually inspect it for signs of bed bugs, such as a live bug, shed skins, eggs, or blood spotting on furniture or bedding.
• Before renting a unit, the landlord must tell a prospective tenant if an adjacent unit is currently infested with bed bugs or being treated for them.
• After a tenant reports a suspected infestation, the landlord must acknowledge the complaint within 120 hours.
• The landlord must then inspect the unit, or get a pest management professional to do so, within 120 hours of the notification.
• For any unit next to, above, or below the reported unit, the landlord must inspect or get a professional inspection within 5 days of notification.
• Once the pest professional makes a determination, the landlord must tell every affected tenant the result within 120 hours of receiving it.
• If an infestation is confirmed, the landlord must arrange treatment from a pest management professional within 14 days of the notification.
• If the tenant reports a suspected infestation within 60 days of moving in, or within 30 days of learning about an infestation in an adjoining unit, the landlord pays for the investigation and treatment.
• The landlord must keep these bed bug records for at least 2 years.^[2.12]

Delaware Rental Lease Agreement Form Details

A Delaware lease agreement typically covers the rent and accepted payment methods, such as check or cash, the security deposit, and each side's responsibilities for repairs and utilities. It also states each party's liability for damage and any additional lease terms included in the document, such as pet policies, parking, or the option to sublease the unit. Read the full content of the document carefully so you do not skip a clause that affects your deposit or your right to renew.

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Frequently Asked Questions

These answers cover common questions about the Delaware lease agreement process, drawn from the same sections of the Delaware Code used throughout this guide, so readers get a short, sourced answer before returning to the full explanation above.

How can a tenant terminate a lease in Delaware?

Where the landlord's violation is one the statute treats as a repeat problem, the tenant may end the rental agreement. The tenant must give the landlord at least 15 days' written notice that states the violation and the date the tenancy will end.^[2.2]

What are landlords not allowed to do in Delaware?

A Delaware lease cannot ask the tenant to waive or give up rights or remedies under the Landlord-Tenant Code.^[2.1]

How much notice does a landlord have to give in Delaware?

When a landlord must fix a problem after a tenant's written notice, state law gives the landlord 30 days from receiving that notice to complete the repair.^[2.4]

Other Delaware Forms
We provide a wide range of important Delaware documents to anyone in quest of convenience when handling various agreements, contracts, and other paperwork in the state.

Delaware Living Will Delaware Last Will Delaware Bill of Sale Delaware Power of Attorney Delaware Non-compete Agreement Delaware Prenuptial Agreement Delaware LLC Operating Agreement

General information, not legal or tax advice.

Sources

1. Del. Code tit. 25, § 5106.
   • 1.1 § 5101
   • 1.2 § 5105
   • 1.3 § 5118
2. 25 Del. C. §§ 5301 to 5317.
   • 2.1 § 5301
   • 2.2 § 5302
   • 2.3 § 5305
   • 2.4 § 5307
   • 2.5 § 5308
   • 2.6 § 5310
   • 2.7 § 5311
   • 2.8 § 5312
   • 2.9 § 5313
   • 2.10 § 5314
   • 2.11 § 5316
   • 2.12 § 5317
3. Del. Code Ann. tit. 25, § 5514(f).
   • 3.1 § 5514(a)
   • 3.2 § 5514(b), (g)(2)
   • 3.3 § 5509(b)
4. 40 C.F.R. § 745.113
   • 4.1 § 745.113(b)

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