Frank, I'm a lawyer but not in RI. Generally you can establish a MTM lease without a writing, but you need to write receipts and preferably get payments in electronic form or check/money order. The bigger problem is all those little terms that establish the ground rules for the tenant and give you additional protections.
If you don't put something in writing, if anything happens your expectations may not be met. Your tenants' lawyer will use case law to show that expectations will be one thing. You will want to argue another. You'll need a lawyer to do this, since you won't be familiar with the standard presumptions on small issues in your jurisdiction. And the judge will have leeway to determine which caselaw to analogize to your situation. If you put little things in writing and show that the tenant should've been aware of things, you no longer have to spend time after-the-fact litigating them. You remove possible misinterpretations and misunderstandings.
The other issue is your property insurance. You should have some documentation of the tenants' occupancy, responsibilities, etc. The insurance will want this proved in writing should a major claim be made.
You won't save money or time by skipping the written, bargained, and signed agreement. And you could lose a lot of money and peace of mind.
Why would you do a lease without a written copy?
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