Even if rental properties are considered assets, you still need to maintain them and make them habitable for the tenants. Often, they require more consistent property inspections compared to a single-family unit since there are more occupants.
Normal wear and tear is also a huge factor for older properties, making it vital to maintain the upkeep of your rental space. Under the landlord-tenant law, both landlords and tenants share maintenance responsibilities. This article provides information on both party’s duties.
What Are the Property Maintenance Duties of a Landlord?
In general, landlords must perform the following tasks:
Place Trash Cans Around the Rental Property
You can inspire renters to properly discard their garbage by providing enough trash cans in your rental unit. You want to know what the right number and size of the trash containers to provide. It depends on how many tenants are residing in your unit and how often the trash collector comes by in your neighborhood.
Provide Running Water
Without sufficient running water, the tenant’s quality of life is diminished. You can’t take a proper shower, cook, or use the toilet. Avoid this by ensuring your tenant can always access clean, running water in your rental property. Heaters are also important so renters can get hot water anytime they want it.
Comply with Building Codes
Your tenants’ safety should be a priority and landlords can provide a healthy environment by following the building safety protocols. This includes performing routine inspections on home systems, checking for lead paint risks and mold concerns, and resolving pest infestations. Landlords should also enforce occupancy limits by renting to the right numbers of residents to reduce dangerous situations and maintain smoke and carbon dioxide detectors.
Ensure Proper Maintenance of Common Areas
Since most tenants tend to gather in the common spaces, as such landlords should provide clean common areas, and check whether there’s enough lighting available to limit accidents. Aside from that, stairs must also be inspected to make sure they’re safe and the banisters are stable.
Flooring must also be checked to avoid incidents of falls that lead to serious injuries. Don’t forget about the property’s curb appeal. Ensure that the property’s exterior is well maintained and properly lit to prevent hazards.
Conduct Property Repairs
Since you must provide an outstanding rental, minimize property damage by arranging for repairs and prioritizing fixes. For normal wear and tear damage, landlords are in charge of paying for repairs and replacement of items. Meanwhile, the repair costs for unexpected property damage caused by renters can be deducted from the security deposit.
Review that Critical Home Systems are Functional
To ensure that a rental space is livable, its plumbing, heating, and electrical systems must be excellently maintained. If there are reported service interruptions, landlords must get in touch with authorized maintenance professionals promptly. Renters who are tasked to pay the utility bills must also make sure that they pay on time so vital services are maintained.
What Are the Legal Duties of Tenants In Maintaining the Property?
Contrary to popular belief, it’s not only the duty of a landlord to maintain a rental space. Tenants must also participate in maintaining an attractive and clean rental home. Here are the main responsibilities tenants have under the law:
Maintain a Sanitized Rental Unit
It’s true that landlords can only go so far and provide trash receptacles, but it’s also up to the renters to throw away their garbage properly. If not, health issues may arise, which can also make your rental space attractive to different pests.
Help Promote Safety
Tenants must refrain from tampering with smoke alarms or blocking access points. They must also use the provided appliances as designed. Otherwise, it can lead to various problems, such as clogging of toilets and broken appliances.
Follow the Building and Housing Codes
Similar to landlords, tenants must also adhere to the existing building codes for safety. They must not sublet the rental without informing the landlord and take in more residents than what was declared on the lease.
Not only is overcrowding a unit a fire hazard, but it can also result in rising utility costs. Normal wear and tear is also sped up with more people than what’s reasonable living in your rental unit.
Eliminate or Reduce the Incidence of Mold
Mold can quickly grow and cause harm to your rental. But it can be avoided when tenants are responsible for keeping moisture away. They can also report the mold issue promptly so landlords can schedule remediation.
Observe Property Respect
Renters must take care of the rental unit by performing reasonable cleaning. This can be in the form of:
- – Cleaning up after plumbing fixtures to limit rust and the growth of mold
- – Keeping appliances tidy to remove dust build-up, which contributes to damage
- – Preventing property damage caused by abuse or neglect
Avoid Potential Lead Paint Disturbance
Before 1978, rental properties were potentially at risk for lead paint exposure. This endangers a resident’s health. If your rental home was built prior to 1978, you must advise renters to get approval before decorating the rental by painting the walls and drilling holes, which can lead to increasing the risks for lead paint disturbance.
More Maintenance Responsibilities
Renters can conduct seasonal maintenance such as grass cutting, snow shoveling, and gutter cleaning. They can also carry out the garbage in designated areas and bring back the receptacles. Furthermore, renters can assist landlords by reporting any property issues right away.
Bottom Line
Properly maintaining a rental property can help protect your investment and relationship with your tenants. If you’re looking for a trusted property manager to maintain the excellent upkeep of your rental property, contact Property Specialists Inc. today!
