Is a signed lease that is written usingone state’s lawvalid if the rental property is in another state?
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Is a signed lease that is written usingone state’s lawvalid if the rental property is in another state?
I rented a house in NV and I am having an issue with the security deposit. I just reliezed that the lease is a CA lease, stating CA law. Does this mean the lease is invalid or is it still implied?
Asked on June 19, 2011 under Real Estate Law, Nevada
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
The lease will still be valid; one state will enforce contracts written in another state or making use of another state's law. Indeed, depending on what exactly the lease says, it's possible, for example, that a NV court will in fact apply CA law to it--it is legal, and fairly common, for a contract (and that's what a lease it, after all: a contract) to have a clause selecting which state's law will apply to it.
If CA law does not apply (no choice of law clause), then a NV court, in enforcing it, would apply NV law. That might result in certain differences in how its enforced--for example relating to how many days a landlord has to return a security deposit--but it will not render the lease as a whole void or invalid.
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