In recent times, landlord and tenant issue drag for a long time because they hardly agree and they delay taking legal actions to avert impeding disagreement.
Below are some common complaints gathered from both tenants & landlords and advise on dealing with these issues:
Ending the Rental Agreement: Common question about ending a fixed term rental agreement:
How do I break a lease?
What are my responsibilities?
When I end my lease every year how much notice do I need to give?
What will I have to pay?
Answer: This depends on the reason why you decide to end a rental agreement, different rules and written notice period applies. Don’t expect to just run out and get a random person to take over your lease for the last couple of months because many landlords won’t tolerate subletting. In some cases, new tenants must go through the same letting process that you did and sign a new lease for at least a year.
Repair and Maintenance: Common questions asked on the issue of repair and maintenance are listed below.
What are the differences between urgent and non urgent repairs?
Is there one and how is it determined?
How to I get my landlord to do repairs?
Answer: Tenants can notify the landlord on repairs and maintenance except the tenant is the cause of the damage. The notification can be due to an act of God, burglaries, accidents etc tenants are also liable if they see an impeding damage and don’t speak up.
The law distinguishes between the two and set procedures to follow in dealing with both the urgent and non urgent repairs. E.g. if the water heater spoils during the winter season it calls for urgent repairs.
Bonds: People sometimes assume that a bond can also be used as rent. Common questions abount bonds:
Can I use my bond as my final month’s rent?
Is my bond refund guaranteed?
Answer: A bond serves as a form of caution fee; if you didn’t damage any property or owe any rent then your bond is guaranteed to be repaid to you in full.
Rent Increment: Some landlords use the quit notice letter as a form of treat to cajole the tenant into accepting an unfair increment in rent. Questions asked for cases like this are:
Is a rent increase fair?
How much can it go up to at a time?
Answer: The rent can be increased before the end of a fix term lease date except the terms of your agreement states other wise.
Entry and inspection Request: Common question asked in cases such as these are:
How many times can a landlord have an open house?
How much notice is a landlord required to give before entering the property?
Answer: There are laws guiding how the landlord would enter the rental property. The reason for entry determines the notice period required because as a tenant you are entitled to a level of privacy. If you find yourself in a state that lacks privacy statute you have to research the case and get help from a lawyer or tenant rights group to find out how much privacy protection you can expect.
