When renting a property, you enter an agreement between yourself and your landlord. You should strive to be a great tenant, making a sincere effort to stick to your rental lease agreement.
In this article, the property management company WNY Holdings covers eight tips on how to be a great tenant.
1. Make sure you have read through all the lease conditions
As a tenant, it is your responsibility to make sure you read and understand all the terms of your lease agreement. Having a clear understanding of the lease will make sure you don’t break any of the lease terms and keep you out of trouble with your landlord.
Leases should cover the rental amount, the deposit amount, allowance of pets, the expectation relating to cleanliness and maintenance as well as terms surrounding ending the lease and moving out of the rental.
2. Take photos of the entire property before you move in
Before you move into your rental, the real estate agent or landlord should conduct a moving-in inspection. You should also get a chance to go through the property and make sure they have captured everything. Nothing is too small to take note of.
While you are conducting a moving-in inspection, take photos of the entire rental property. Take photos of all the walls, every cracked tile, every scratch, inside every cupboard. You can even take a video walk-through of the property for further evidence. Save these photogs on your backup hard drive as well as your cloud account.
3. Keep your house and yard clean and tidy
The house and yard do not need to be immaculate at all times. But you should be ready for any unexpected visits from the landlord. Your landlord should not be arriving at your rental unexpectantly, and will usually give at least a 24-hour notice. However, sometimes there is a burst pipe or some other sort of emergency that will need immediate access to fix.
4. Pay your rent on time
A good tenant always pays their rent on time. Not paying rent on time is a break in the lease requirements and can be grounds for eviction. The easiest way to make sure this happens is to set up an automatic debit order on your bank account. If for some reason you are battling financially and will need to pay later, it may help to bring it up early with your landlord. Having open communication is better than just simply missing a payment or making a late payment.
5. Prepare your property and garden for inspections
Every rental should undergo periodic inspections. These inspections may even be part of the insurance requirements for the landlord. Presenting a neat, tidy and clean property will ensure that the inspection goes over well.
Deep clean the kitchen and bathrooms, paying special attention to corners where grime tends to accumulate. Make sure the oven and extraction hood are clean, give all the carpets a vacuum and wash all the floors.
If you are also responsible for a garden, mow the lawn, rake up the leaves and take care of any yard responsibilities that are covered in your lease.
If you need to be present at the inspection, make sure you arrive on time. Be friendly and upbeat, the inspection will go over just fine.
6. Report anything that goes wrong with the property immediately
Report everything that goes on. Not only does it protect you, as a tenant, against any damage claims, but it allows the landlord to keep the property in a good condition as well. Keep in mind that some repairs may not be able to be fixed immediately, and will take time to fix.
7. Get renter’s or contents insurance
Contents or renter’s insurance covers any potential damage or loss of your personal property. The insurance your landlord has on the rental property does not cover damage or loss to your personal effects.
8. Moving out of your rental
When deciding to move out of your rental, refer back to your lease agreement to fully understand all requirements with regards to giving notice, when outgoing inspections need to be undertaken, what sort of cleaning requirements are needed on moving out.
Once your personal property has been packed away, clean the entire rental property. Wash down the walls, floors, vacuum carpets, clean windows and wipe down the inside of the cupboards.
Take photos of the rental property before you move out. Take photographs of all the walls, windows, floors, inside the cupboards. Save these photographs on your external hard drive and cloud account.
Try to be available and conduct the outgoing inspection with the landlord or agent managing the property.
Being a great tenant is easy, shares WNY Holdings. Keep the property clean, stick to the terms of the lease agreements, and keep the communication channels between yourself and your landlord open.