A clause added to a lease is called a “lease rider.” Riders are usually added to leases when a lessee runs into a problem that wasn’t covered in the original lease. Lease riders are sometimes a requirement for renewing a lease, and their only purpose is to let tenants know about any changes to the terms of the lease since they signed the first one.
Lease riders protect both the lessor and the lessee. In some cases, they are required by law, such as when a tenant is grandfathered in or protected by a law. Especially with property leases, there are sometimes situations that put the lessor at risk of liability if a lease rider is not added. One example of this is if a building has lead paint or asbestos. Long-term health effects of these substances have been found to be serious and sometimes deadly. Even though a lessor may not have put these in a property, the fact that they are there makes the lessor liable for any medical conditions that may happen to tenants unless a lease rider is added to the lease that lets the tenant know about the presence of these substances and releases the lessor from liability for any medical conditions that happen because of them.
