6 Things That Tenants Should Be Mindful of to Avoid Landlord Problems
When renting an apartment or a house, a lease agreement will need to be signed. The clauses in the agreement are binding and as the tenant, you’ll be held responsible for them. As a renter, there are also things that are useful to bear in mind to avoid a future knock on the door and an argument with the landlord.
Be Clear About Payment Terms
Not everyone takes the date they should pay their rent as sacrosanct. Sometimes, they feel like it’s a flexible date that has some wriggle room in it. In fact, the rent due date is specific for when the rent must be paid either to the property manager or the landlord directly.
It’s true that some states also permit a grace period – an extra period of time beyond the due date – when the tenant can still pay the rent. However, after the grace period or at a point of the landlord’s choosing after the due date, the landlord or property manager can post a notice on the door on their behalf to either pay the rent or leave. It’s essentially an eviction notice even though it doesn’t necessarily use those exact words, but it amounts to the same thing.
Be Communicative with Your Landlord If Running into Problems
No one likes to have someone wait until the very last minute to inform them that they cannot pay a bill. It’s much better to let the landlord know ahead of the date that you’ll have to pay your rent late. The reason might be a change of employer, unemployment or another reason. The sooner they are informed, the better the outcome is likely to be when asking for more time to pay.
It’s the non-communicative tenants who try to dodge the landlord’s inquiries that are the most concerning. They’re also most likely to get served with an eviction notice over the one that talked early and often to the landlord about their situation, and remedies it quickly thereafter.
While being a landlord is a business, they are people too. Often, when being fair and reasonable with them, they’ll be fair with you. It also helps if you haven’t missed a payment previously, possibly paid early each month rather than just on time (these things get noticed), and are already on good terms.
Inspections of the Property
It might not have been obvious, but landlords need to have the property inspected periodically. This could be to check that it’s being well taken care of or to deal with maintenance issues. For instance, it’s a good idea to have gas appliances regularly maintained and checked to avoid gas leaks. The same goes for a furnace before winter approaches.
Being aware of common rental lease terms is useful as a renter. There are many different possible rental clauses in an agreement. Some of which aren’t always obvious, or you’d expect to be there. With common rental lease terms, they usually include allowing maintenance workers or the landlord onto the property to deal with routine maintenance and emergency preventative/current issues with appliances including heating, cooling, kitchen, and more. The clause should also outline what reasonable notice means, but in an emergency situation or for safety reasons it could allow for minimal notice to prevent a serious issue.
When renting through an app like Apartment Guide, they have information available to help renters know what is expected of them to avoid any confusion. If renting different properties through them over time, it makes it easier to understand how the company works with landlords and tenants in a consistent manner.
Overnight Friends, Family or Pets Allowed?
Not every lease agreement permits a renter to have friends or family stay overnight. They may permit visitors, but the number of concurrent visitors might have a restriction for health and safety reasons.
If you’re someone who likes to throw parties or have a big family gathering, then it’s sensible to look at the lease for a clause like this. It may seriously cramp your style if you’re having to turn away people because there are too many people in the house or only one or two are permitted to stay overnight (if any).
In terms of pets, the apartment or house may or may not be pet-friendly (excluding support animals). It’s quite possible that while a certain number of pets are permitted to stay with the renter, additional pets as visitors may push it over the limit.
For rentals where no pets are allowed, this is usually strict in the terms of the lease. The landlord is soon to find out if you break the occupancy rules (e.g. CCTV on the property). They could make an issue about breaching the terms of the lease. It might seem minor to you, but it could be a major no-no to them.
Get Renter’s Insurance
It’s possible that the property and its contents are covered under the landlord’s insurance policy. However, more often than not, renter’s insurance is specified in the lease agreement as a requirement for renters to take out for themselves. Indeed, not taking out required renter’s insurance and not being able to provide proof of it when requested are both a breach of the lease agreement.
It’s much better to go through your own insurance policy than to rely on a landlord to make a claim. It’s far less complicated and it avoids creating a rocky relationship with them if their insurer takes their sweet time awarding the claim or denies it outright. It also means you can reliably get sufficient coverage for all your valuables and not worry whether the landlord has a high enough coverage or sub-clauses that cover unusual items like money or jewelry left in the property.
Making Changes
As a tenant, it’s important to be extremely clear about what changes you’re allowed to make to the property and its contents. Buying a replacement sofa and removing the existing one is probably not okay. Similarly, taking some of the furniture and moving it outdoors to the patio or deck might not be what the landlord intended. The furniture may not have been expressly designed for outdoor use and could get damaged as a result of your actions.
Always be careful about making any changes to the furniture, décor, or location of items already on the property when you arrived. If in doubt, check what the lease says about it. Failing that, talk with the landlord about what you’d like to do and see what they say. It might be something they’ve been considering already or like the plan and would be willing to contribute financially towards it. In which case, be clear about who owns what to avoid confusion when moving out.
As a tenant, it’s a good idea to put yourself in the shoes of the landlord. They’re not the enemy. All they want to do is provide a reasonable place to live for one or more tenants, maintain it well and make a profit from the transaction to cover their time and capital investment. In exchange, tenants that are friendly and helpful tend to stay in their good graces.
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