So you’re looking for a Free Rental Agreement from TREC, huh? I did the exact same thing just a few months ago. I’m so used to the wonderful Free One to Four Family Residential Contract from TREC, and I surely thought our friends at TREC would give us a Free Texas Residential Lease as well. So… In this article I want to:

1. Show you some Free Lease Agreements, including the Free TREC Lease Agreements (which probably won’t work for you – sorry).
2. Explain to you what TREC is and it’s purpose
3. Go over the Free TREC Rental Agreement for Texas Landlords in case this is indeed what you’re here for

Free Rental Lease Agreements, Including TREC Residential Agreement

Below are some Free Leases that work for Texas. As I will explain below, the TREC leases are not Standard Residential Leases. They are unique leases for special situations where the Buyer of a Residential property will occupy the property for no more than 90 days prior to closing on the purchase contract, or where the Seller will stay in the property that they just sold for no more than 90 days. Therefore the TREC Leases will not work for a normal Landlord-Tenant Lease Situation, unfortunately. Below are the 2 TREC Leases, and some Standard Rental Agreements that might work for you: 1. TREC Buyers Temporary Residential Lease 2. TREC Sellers Temporary Residential Lease 3. Lone Star College Lease (Standard Lease) 4. Free Texas Rental Agreement from eForms (Click Here) 5. Free Standard Lease Agreements from Landlord Guidance (our site):

What is TREC anyway?

TREC stands for Texas Real Estate Commission. TREC is the Texas agency, based in Austin, that governs real estate practices in the great State of Texas. The Commission is made up of nine members who are appointed by the Texas Governor and are approved by the Texas Senate. Six of the members are licensed Real Estate Brokers and three of them are members of the public who are not.

TREC does the following tasks:

• Enforces Real Estate Laws and Regulations
• Issues Real Estate Licenses
• Renews Real Estate Licenses

As part of these Tasks, TREC promulgates a bunch of Free Real Estate Forms on it’s website (but not Standard Residential Leases – boo hoo).

TREC also serves as the state’s regulatory agency for:

• Real Estate Brokers and Agents
• Inspectors
• Appraisers
• Education Providers for Real Estate and Inspection Courses
• Residential Service Companies
• Timeshare Developers
• Easement (Right-of-Way) Agents

In my opinion, excessive regulation in general is bad, but some regulation of the real estate industry is indeed necessary, as there are lots of opportunities for bad actors to take advantage of naive consumers. So I’m glad TREC does what they do, I just wish they would give us a a few more free forms!

About the TREC Buyers Temporary Residential Lease

Sometimes a Buyer of a property will move into the property prior to closing (finalizing the sale). In this situation, usually the Seller will want to be paid for the time the Buyer is living there. They don’t get to live there for free, unless that’s negotiated as part of the agreement. So to solve the problem, the Buyer will sign a temporary lease will the seller, effectively becoming a renter (Tenant), and the Seller will effectively become a Landlord. To facilitate this situation, TREC came out with their Temporary Lease. This is a unique kind of lease that is for no more than 90 days. It should not be used as a regular Residential Lease, as it was not made for that and is lacking important provisions that a standard lease would have. If you are in this situation, and you need this kind of temporary lease, then make sure you have your lawyer or licensed realtor go over the details. It is a little trickier than doing a normal lease, because it’s being done as part of the sale of a property. They are tied together and need to be done correctly.

About the TREC Sellers Temporary Residential Lease

What if your are selling your house, and the closing date is in a week, but your new home won’t be ready for 2 more months?! Will you live on the streets? In a hotel? With your mother-in-law? I’d prefer the streets to this last option, but there is a better solution. Negotiate with the buyer to let you stay in the home. How? Sign a TREC Sellers Temporary Residential Lease. Signing this lease will turn you, the seller, into a lowly renter. Just kidding. We’re all renters at some point in life. You will become a Tenant in your own home (it’s not really your home any more), renting the house from the new owner for those 2 months. The new owner becomes the Landlord and collects rent from you. Like the situation above, this is a unique and temporary situation, and is for no more than 90 days after closing of the purchase contract. As I mentioned above, even thought you can get a Free TREC form to facilitate this situation, please do it with your Realtor or Lawyer. It’s tied in with the sale of a property, and everything needs to “jive” together. You don’t want problems when it comes to buying, selling and renting.

Final Thoughts about TREC Residential Rental Lease Agreement Forms

1. TREC does not “promulgate” or make a Free Standard Rental Lease Agreement for us to use.
2. TREC does however promulgate a TREC Buyers Temporary Residential Lease and a TREC Sellers Temporary Residential Lease
3. TREC licenses and regulates the real estate industry in Texas
4. There are other Free Leases available in Texas. You can Create a Free Residential Lease Here using the eForms form builder.