Idaho Residential Lease Agreement

Required Landlord Disclosures (1)

Disclosures are additional information landlords must provide to tenants at or before lease signing. Federal law requires only one disclosure in Idaho, and state law requires no additional disclosures.

1. Lead paint: Under federal law, landlords must inform tenants of any known lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards in any unit built before 1978. Landlords must also provide tenants with the EPA-approved “Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home” pamphlet (42 U.S.C. § 4852d).

Security Deposit Regulations

Maximum security deposit amount: In Idaho, there is no state-mandated limit on the amount a landlord may charge for a security deposit.

Receipt of deposit: Landlords do not have to give tenants a security deposit receipt. Residential rental premises managed by a third-party manager must maintain security deposits in a separate account at a federally insured financial institution, separate from the third-party agent’s operating account (Idaho Code § 6-321(4)).

Deduction tracking: Landlords may withhold funds from the security deposit only for reasons specified in the rental arrangement. When a landlord returns less than the full deposit, they must provide a signed statement itemizing the amounts lawfully retained, the purpose for each deduction, and a detailed list of expenditures. Landlords may not deduct for normal wear and tear (Idaho Code § 6-321(1), § 6-321(2)).

Returning a tenant’s security deposit: If not otherwise specified in the Idaho residential lease agreement, landlords must return security deposits within 21 days after the tenant surrenders the premises. If the lease sets a different timeframe, it cannot exceed 30 days (Idaho Code § 6-321(2)).

Landlord’s Access to Property

Advance notice: Idaho law does not set a specific advance notice period before a landlord enters a tenant’s unit. However, landlords should provide reasonable notice and generally enter only for legitimate reasons, like inspections, maintenance, repairs, or emergencies.

Immediate access: Landlords in Idaho may enter a unit without prior notice in an emergency.

Landlord harassment: Idaho does not regulate landlord entry or provide a specific ‘unlawful entry’ remedy by statute. A tenant facing repeated or unreasonable intrusion would generally rely on the lease and common-law theories such as breach of the implied covenant of quiet enjoyment or trespass; where a landlord’s conduct breaches a lease term materially affecting health or safety, the tenant may sue for damages and specific performance under § 6-320, and a prevailing party in a Chapter 3 action may recover attorney’s fees under § 6-324.

Rent Payment Laws

Grace period: Idaho has no mandatory grace period for overdue rent payments.

Late rent fees: Idaho does not set a specific statewide cap on late rent fees, though charges should be reasonable and listed in the rental lease agreement to be enforceable.

Rent increase notice: For month-to-month tenancies, a landlord may change other lease terms with at least 15 days’ written notice, but must give at least 30 days’ written notice of a rent increase (or of nonrenewal) on residential property before it takes effect (Idaho Code § 55-307(1)).

Tenant’s right to withhold rent: Unlike many states, Idaho does not allow tenants to withhold rent for repairs or use a general “repair and deduct” remedy. That said, tenants may be able to pursue legal remedies if landlords fail to make necessary repairs under Idaho’s habitability requirements (Idaho Code § 6-320).

Breach of Lease Agreement

Missed rent payment: When a tenant misses a rent payment, Idaho landlords may issue a 3-Day Notice to Pay or Quit (Idaho Code § 6-303(2)).

Lease violation: Idaho landlords can issue a 3-Day Notice to Cure or Quit for most lease violations (Idaho Code § 6-303(3)). But if the tenant commits waste, sublets the unit without permission, or violates a lease condition that cannot be cured, the landlord can issue a 3-Day Notice to Quit without giving the tenant a chance to fix the violation (§ 6-303(4)).

Self-help evictions: Idaho landlords should never attempt self-help evictions by removing a tenant themselves, shutting off utilities, changing locks, or taking the tenant’s belongings. Landlords must always follow the legal eviction process and use a court-issued writ of restitution when removing a tenant from the rental property (Idaho Code § 6-316).

Lease abandonment: Idaho tenants who attempt to break a lease early without a legally valid reason may lose their security deposit, face a civil lawsuit, and remain responsible for unpaid rent or other damages allowed under the lease. Although not required, landlords should also make reasonable efforts to re-rent the unit and mitigate financial losses.

Ending a Lease

Month-to-month: Both landlords and tenants must provide at least 30 days’ written notice to end a month-to-month rental lease agreement in Idaho (Idaho Code § 55-208).

Fixed-term: A tenant may end a fixed-term lease early in limited circumstances: qualifying military service under the federal SCRA (50 U.S.C. § 3955); or, for serious uninhabitable conditions, by pursuing the habitability remedies in § 6-320 (damages and specific performance) and, where conditions make the unit unlivable, common-law constructive eviction. Idaho does not provide a statutory early-termination right for ‘landlord harassment’ or retaliation.

Property abandonment: Idaho does not have a detailed statewide process for abandoned property. However, landlords shouldn’t simply keep, remove, or dispose of a tenant’s belongings without following the legal process. In many cases, landlords may need to seek a court order before removing or selling personal property left in the rental unit.

Renewing a Lease

Required renewals: Idaho landlords do not have to renew a tenant’s Idaho residential lease agreement when the lease term ends. Under state and federal law, though, landlords cannot refuse to renew a lease for discriminatory or retaliatory reasons.

Required notice: Idaho landlords must provide at least 30 days’ written notice when they want to end a month-to-month lease (Idaho Code § 55-208). Landlords should also give tenants at least 30 days’ written notice of their intent not to renew the tenant’s lease.