Family: What Are Your Landlord's Responsibilities?

What Are Your Landlord's Responsibilities?

Written by dan the roommate man

Curious about what exactly your landlord is responsible for? Here's a list of things your landlord can and cannot do.

According to law, you landlord must...

(a) make sure that your house or apartment complies with all building, housing and health codes that significantly affect your health and safety. If you feel your landlord is not following repparttar building, housing or health codes, you should contact your local tenant's union.

(b) make all repairs necessary to make your house or apartment livable. Keep in mind that this means your landlord is responsible for NECESSARY repairs, not repainting your front door for aesthetic appeal.

(d) supply sufficient amounts of hot water and heat at all times.

(e) keep repparttar 110498 hallways and stairways safe and sanitary.

(f) provide garbage cans (if he or she owns four or more units in your building).*

(g) give you reasonable notice before he or she enters your apartment

Your landlord must not...

(a) increase your rent, decrease you services, issue or even threaten to issue an eviction as a result of your complaining to him or to repparttar 110499 city about a code violation or because you joined a tenants' union of some sort. As long as you are assembling peaceably, you have a constitutional right to join whatever group you want to.

Moving Out: A Renter's Obligations

Written by dan the roommate man

Moving is an exhausting process, from finding a new place to live to hiring reputable movers to boxing your belongings and unpacking. So it's easy to understand why many renters tend to overlook important details before they they move out. In repparttar

rush to wrap things up and move into their new residences, people occasionally forget their obligations as a tenant, and those obligations later come back to haunt them.

A frequent question asked by renters is how much notice they're required to give before moving out. A minimum of 30 days notice -- in writing -- is standard procedure. (Make a copy of that letter for yourself.) That gives repparttar 110497 landlord or management company adequate time to find a new tenant to fill your apartment, and time for repparttar 110498 maintenance staff to clean repparttar 110499 unit prior to repparttar 110500 arrival of its new resident or residents.

Tenants moving out often find they need additional time to clean their apartments after packing is over. It stands to reason, then, that repparttar 110501 next most frequently asked question is how long they're allowed to remain in their apartments after their lease expires or they've given notice that they're breaking their leases. The safest answer to that question, and repparttar 110502 one you're most likely to get if you ask your landlord or leasing representative, is that you're required to be out by repparttar 110503 time your lease expires -- meaning by repparttar 110504 end of repparttar 110505 month.

Management companies and some landlords have been known to be flexible with departing tenants, and they generally appreciate a tenant's efforts to clean repparttar 110506 unit before he or she departs. Your request for a few extra days to vacuum and pack up repparttar 110507 last of your belongings will often be met with agreement, but don't be surprised if your landlord or management company asks for a daily fee in return for their flexibility. That's perfectly within their rights, according to repparttar 110508 real estate law books, so there's not much you can do when faced with a fee -- except to hurry up and ship out.

And speaking of cleaning up before your departure, what are your obligations as a tenant? Do you have to leave it as spotless as it was when you moved in? (That question assumes that your unit was adequately cleaned, of course.) The answer is yes. Err on repparttar 110509 side of "too clean" in order to prevent your deposit from being reduced. You don't have to hire a professional carpet cleaning company or buy an expensive contraption to clean repparttar 110510 carpeting yourself. But by all means, vacuum repparttar 110511 floor, dust every surface, and consider wiping down repparttar 110512 windows with a little glass cleaner. It doesn't take long, and it leaves a good impression. Depending upon who leased you your apartment, you could be faced with a reduced deposit -- or even no deposit -- based on criteria you find ridiculous. Instead of getting involved in repparttar 110513 hassle of debating those points with your soon-to-be ex-landlord or management company, spend a good half-hour giving your empty apartment a once-over.

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