With the rise of artificial intelligence, there are more ways than ever for landlords or would-be landlords to self-service their own legal needs, especially with respect to drawing up a lease agreement and related documents.
There have been form leases available for decades, and many California landlords may choose to copy from other lease documents that they judge to be of high quality.
Now, a Bay Area resident could also use artificial intelligence like ChatGPT to help them create a lease, even tailoring it somewhat to their own needs.
To be fair, these leases vary in quality. Some of them are quite good. However, before trying to self-serve either to save money or just to avoid a visit with a real estate lawyer, San Francisco landlords should consider the following:
- There is no guarantee that a lease they generate on their own complies with California and local laws. Moreover, there is no remedy if it turns out the lease is invalid, unlawful or does not protect the landlord’s legal interests.
- While creating a lease and signing it is one matter, landlords should keep in mind that renting often will involve negotiations both before and after the lease agreement gets signed. In some cases, the landlord may have to deal with a real estate dispute between themselves and their tenant or, possibly, with a government authority or other third party.
- Today, even artificial intelligence has limits when it comes to understanding a landlord’s individual circumstances. Especially with respect to commercial leases, how a landlord should negotiate and draft their lease will depend a lot on their situations.
While self-service may have its place, those commercial and residential landlords should make sure they understand their legal options before offering a lease to would-be tenants.