A lease addendum is a supplementary document attached to the main lease that adds or modifies specific terms — pets, parking, HOA rules, lead-based-paint disclosures — without rewriting the whole lease.
§ I — What "lease addendum" means
A lease addendum is a separate written document that becomes part of the lease by reference. Common categories: pet addenda (deposit, breed restrictions, fees), parking addenda (assigned spaces, guest rules), HOA addenda (community rules incorporated by reference), and statutorily-required addenda (federal lead-based-paint disclosure for pre-1978 housing, state-required mold or radon notices). Addenda must be signed by all lease signatories to bind them.
§ II — How lease addendum varies by state
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Massachusetts
Massachusetts requires lead-based-paint disclosure (federal) plus state-specific mold and pest-control disclosures depending on circumstances. 105 CMR 410.
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Florida
Florida leases must include the federal lead-paint addendum for pre-1978 housing and the statutory radon disclosure under Fla. Stat. § 404.056(5). Miya's Law (§ 83.515, eff. 2022) imposes background-check requirements on multi-family landlords that are typically reflected in the lease body or a screening-policy addendum rather than as a separate document.
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California
California requires Megan's-Law disclosure, mold disclosure if applicable, and the AB 1482 just-cause notice (post-2020 leases) as addenda.
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New York
New York requires the federal lead-paint disclosure plus the bedbug-history disclosure for NYC properties (NYC Admin Code § 27-2018.1).
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Texas
Texas leases must include the federal lead-paint addendum for pre-1978 housing, the smoke-alarm and security-device disclosure under Tex. Prop. Code §§ 92.255 and 92.157, the owner / manager-agent disclosure under § 92.201, the emergency-water-cutoff notice under § 92.0162, and (when applicable) the flood-disclosure under § 92.0135 (eff. 2022). Most attach as separate addenda or are reproduced verbatim in the lease body.
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North Carolina
North Carolina leases must include the federal lead-paint addendum for pre-1978 housing and, when a deposit is collected, the trust-account bank-information disclosure under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-50. Other addenda (pet, late-fee, utility) attach as needed.
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Georgia
Georgia leases must include the federal lead-paint addendum for pre-1978 housing and, for landlords with 10+ rental units, the trust-account / bank-information disclosure under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-31. Other addenda (pet, late-fee, utility) attach as needed.
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Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania leases must include the federal lead-paint addendum for pre-1978 housing. Beyond that, Pennsylvania imposes few state-mandated addenda; deposit-handling obligations (68 P.S. § 250.511a) and notice rules typically sit in the lease body. Philadelphia leases additionally attach the Partners for Good Housing notice and the Certificate of Rental Suitability under Phila. Code § 9-3902.
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Illinois
Illinois leases must include the federal lead-paint addendum for pre-1978 housing and, for properties in a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area, a flood disclosure addendum under 765 ILCS 742/1 (eff. 2024). Chicago RLTO leases additionally require a Chicago RLTO Summary attachment under Mun. Code § 5-12-170.
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Ohio
Ohio leases must include the federal lead-paint addendum for pre-1978 housing. Specific Ohio-only addenda are minimal — the Ohio Rev. Code § 5321 framework imposes most obligations (deposit interest, habitability, self-help prohibition) on the landlord without requiring separate attachments.
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Michigan
Michigan leases must include the federal lead-paint addendum for pre-1978 housing and the Michigan "Truth in Renting Act" notice under MCL 554.634, which requires verbatim statutory language warning that any prohibited lease provision is unenforceable. Most other disclosures (inventory checklist, deposit-return language) sit inside the lease body rather than as separate addenda.
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Washington
Washington leases must include the federal lead-paint addendum for pre-1978 housing, the move-in checklist when a deposit is collected (RCW 59.18.260), and the mold-information notice under RCW 59.18.060. Leases entered after 2025 should also reference the HB 1217 rent-cap framework and the 90-day rent-increase notice under RCW 59.18.140.
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Arizona
Arizona leases must include the federal lead-paint addendum for pre-1978 housing (24 C.F.R. Part 35) and, for multi-family rentals, a bed-bug informational addendum under A.R.S. § 33-1319. Most other Arizona disclosures (move-in checklist, RUBS billing) are folded into the lease body rather than separate addenda.
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Virginia
Virginia leases must include the federal lead-paint addendum for pre-1978 housing and a broad state-mandated disclosure inventory: mold (Va. Code § 55.1-1215), military air-installation zones (§ 55.1-1217), defective drywall (§ 55.1-1218), prior meth-lab contamination (§ 55.1-1219), planned demolition (§ 55.1-1216), and a first-page itemized fee disclosure (§ 55.1-1204.1). The move-in inspection report (§ 55.1-1214) attaches separately at occupancy.
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New Jersey
New Jersey leases must include the federal lead-paint addendum for pre-1978 housing, the Truth in Renting Act statement for buildings of 3+ units (N.J.S.A. 46:8-44), the window-guard notice for buildings of 3+ units in eligible municipalities, the lead-paint inspection notice under N.J.S.A. 52:27D-437.16 et seq., and the flood-zone disclosure under P.L. 2023, c. 93. Other state-mandated disclosures (Megan's Law, CSDCMAPFEC) attach as additional addenda.
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Colorado
Colorado leases must include the federal lead-paint addendum for pre-1978 housing and the radon disclosure under C.R.S. § 38-12-803 (eff. 2021). The HB23-1095 illegal-lease-provisions enumeration is generally addressed in the lease body rather than as a separate addendum.
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Tennessee
Tennessee leases must include the federal lead-paint addendum for pre-1978 housing. URLTA-county leases additionally include a fire / casualty insurance disclaimer under Tenn. Code § 66-28-301 and the URLTA habitability framework — typically in the lease body rather than separate addenda. Outside URLTA counties, only the federal addenda are required.
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Minnesota
Minnesota leases must include the federal lead-paint addendum for pre-1978 housing. The cold-weather utility-shutoff protection under Minn. Stat. § 216B.097 and the rent-escrow remedy under §§ 504B.381–504B.425 are typically addressed in the lease body. St. Paul rent-stabilized rentals attach a separate rent-stabilization disclosure.
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Maryland
Maryland leases must include a copy of the Maryland Tenants' Bill of Rights as a required section under Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-208(c)(4) — effectively a built-in addendum. Other addenda (pet, lead-paint, mold pamphlet) attach as needed.
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Indiana
Indiana leases must include the smoke-detector tenant acknowledgement under IC 32-31-5-7 — effectively a built-in addendum. Other addenda (pet, lead-paint, late-fee schedule) attach as needed.