Upload the lease. Lawma reads it clause by clause and a licensed attorney explains it in plain language — what to watch for, what to ask the landlord to change, what to walk away from. Lawma’s guided intake is free; the licensed attorney you choose quotes a flat fee before any work starts.
Why this matters
Leases — residential or commercial — are written by the landlord's lawyer, for the landlord's benefit. The clauses that hurt you are rarely the ones in big print: they're the “additional rent” definition, the personal-guaranty paragraph, the security-deposit deductions list buried on page eleven.
Lawma is built so you don't sign anything you don't understand. Upload the lease. Get clarity. Go back to the landlord with specific, reasonable asks — or walk away with your eyes open.
How a Lawma review works
The attorney review is what makes this trustworthy. AI alone is not legal advice — a real lawyer signs off on what you read.
Pick your path
Residential and commercial leases share the same shape but almost none of the same risks. We treat them differently.
An apartment, a house, a room. You signed nothing yet — or the landlord just sent you a renewal — and the document is fifteen pages of dense paragraphs that all start with “Tenant shall.”
What our review surfaces:
Already facing an eviction or unsafe conditions? That's a court matter, not a document review — go to landlord-tenant help instead.
A retail storefront, a restaurant, a salon, a clinic, an office. A bad commercial lease can break a business — they often run five to ten years, carry personal guaranties, and pass on costs most operators never see coming.
What our review surfaces:
California adds wrinkles for some commercial tenants — SB 1103 (2024) gives certain small-business and non-profit tenants extra rent-increase notice and translation rights. Your attorney will tell you whether you qualify.
How pricing works
Your lawyer charges a pre-negotiated flat fee — typically $200 to $3,500, depending on complexity. Residential lease review falls toward the low end; commercial leases sit higher. That single fee covers your attorney's work AND everything Lawma does.
For comparison, a traditional lease review with a private attorney runs a few hundred dollars for a residential lease and well into the thousands for a commercial one. Lawma runs in days, and ends with a real lawyer signing off on what you read.
If you qualify for legal aid, your fee is waived. Permanently.That's a Lawma commitment.
Traditional-attorney fee ranges are market estimates from industry surveys; specific quotes vary by attorney, jurisdiction, and matter complexity.
Your uploaded lease is attorney-client privileged from the moment it lands with us. We don't train AI on your document, and we don't share it with anyone outside your attorney and our supervised review process.
Questions people ask
I'm supposed to sign in two days. Can you still help?
Upload it today. Our process is built for short timelines — most reviews are back within a couple of business days. If you have a hard deadline, tell us in the upload form and your attorney will prioritize it.
My landlord says the lease is “standard.” Is it?
“Standard” is the most common word in a bad lease. Most landlord forms have the same shape, but the numbers, the deposit rules, the personal-guaranty paragraph, and the carve-outs are negotiated every time. Standard is not the same as fair.
Will you help me negotiate back to the landlord?
Yes. After the review, you can chat with your attorney to pick the asks worth making and word them so the landlord actually says yes. Most leases get better with three or four clean, specific requests — not a wholesale rewrite.
Already in a fight with my landlord?
If you're facing an eviction, an unlawful detainer, or serious habitability problems, that's a court matter, not a document review — go to landlord-tenant help. We handle that side too.
From tenant advocacy to realtors to general contractors for build-outs, these partners cover the work around the lease itself. Lawma earns a small fee when you use one.
Real estate
Harbor Realty
Agents trained in divorce, downsizing, and tight-timeline sales. Honest valuations, no high-pressure listings, will work with your attorney.
Tenant advocacy
Tenants First
Free, in-language help with notices, repairs, security-deposit recovery, and eviction defense — funded by HUD partner grants.
General contractors
Bedrock Builds
Licensed, insured, bonded GCs for residential and small-commercial work. Transparent contract templates that pass Lawma's lawyer review.
Intake happens on Lawma — you never hand your details to a third-party form. Lawma earns a small referral fee when you connect with a partner; we only list services that meet our review bar, and we never run ads on your case file.
Guided intake is free and privileged. Reviewed by a licensed attorney who quotes a flat fee before any work starts.
