Choosing Between Apartments? Consider Maintenance & Security

Written by dan the roommate man


When trying to decide which apartment will be best for you, it's important to considerrepparttar amount of support each landlord is willing to provide for his or her tenants. In order to determine this, you should find outrepparttar 110483 way potential apartments handle maintenance as well as security issues.

It’s important to find outrepparttar 110484 way your landlord handles repairs before they become a problem. You might be looking at an apartment with a great Jacuzzi-style tub... but if your landlord's never there to fix a bad draining problem, you might not ever get to enjoy it! You need to find a complex with a good maintenance system.

So, how are you supposed to learn how a certain apartment handles maintenance problems? Askrepparttar 110485 landlord or manager handling your apartment inquiries. Find out how repair requests are handled. You can ask questions such as: "Is there a resident superintendent that handles all maintenance problems?", "Are maintenance hours restricted?" or "How long does it typically take for repair requests to be answered?" The answers should give you a little insight intorepparttar 110486 way that things are handled.

If you don't get much of an answer out ofrepparttar 110487 complex representative, you might consider asking a resident. Ifrepparttar 110488 person you approach is irritated byrepparttar 110489 wayrepparttar 110490 complex handles repair requests, he or she will be more than happy to vent.

When to Fight for Tenant's Rights to Repairs

Written by dan the roommate man


Once you signrepparttar lease to a rental unit, you are automatically entitled to certain privileges. Unlike homeowners, you are not responsible for making all repairs. Landlords are required byrepparttar 110482 Landlord-Tenant law to keep things a "fit and habitable condition" during your residency. Ifrepparttar 110483 landlord fails to do this, you may have to get a bit aggressive.

Althoughrepparttar 110484 specifics of these requirements will vary slightly from state to state*,repparttar 110485 responsibilities of landlords are generallyrepparttar 110486 same. Some ofrepparttar 110487 typical landlord responsibilities include:

* Putting and keepingrepparttar 110488 premises in a fit and habitable condition. * Keepingrepparttar 110489 common areas safe and sanitary. * Complying with building, housing, health, and safety codes. * Keeping all electrical, plumbing, heating, and ventilation systems and fixtures in good working order. * Maintaining all appliances and equipment supplied or required to be supplied byrepparttar 110490 landlord. * Providing running water and reasonable amounts of hot water and heat, unlessrepparttar 110491 hot water and heat are supplied by an installation that is underrepparttar 110492 exclusive control ofrepparttar 110493 tenant and supplied by a direct public utility hook-up.

Ifrepparttar 110494 landlord does not fulfill these duties, and you have been a responsible tenant (keeping all fixtures and appliances clean and undamaged), you need to be aggressive. Now by "being aggressive" I do not mean slashing your landlord's tires and leaving threatening messages on his or her answering machine. I simply mean that you shouldn't let your landlord convince you thatrepparttar 110495 repairs "aren't that important" or that they'll "get to them whenever they get a chance."

The first step you need to take is to let your landlord know there is a problem. According to Neighborhood Link, an on-line web site forrepparttar 110496 people of Ohio, "If a landlord does not meetrepparttar 110497 duties imposed byrepparttar 110498 Landlord Tenant law... then a tenant may giverepparttar 110499 landlord a written notice to correctrepparttar 110500 condition. This notice must be in writing and delivered torepparttar 110501 person or atrepparttar 110502 place whererepparttar 110503 tenant normally pays rent. The tenant should keep a copy of this notice."

It is incredibly important to have a written notice. Don't assume that your landlord will remember that you told him or her there was a leaky faucet in apartment 3G while you were walking by. Landlords are busy people! So, providing physical copy of a letter will actually help them remember there is a problem. Not only will this be easier on your landlord, but in case your landlord refuses to makerepparttar 110504 repair, you can use your copy ofrepparttar 110505 notice as a defense. If you tried to take your landlord to court without a copy ofrepparttar 110506 written request, you wouldn't have any substantial evidence to back up your claim. However, if you providerepparttar 110507 judge with a typed, signed and dated copy ofrepparttar 110508 request for repairs,repparttar 110509 chances of getting those repairs made are much higher.

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