Living in a rental has many of its own perks without worrying about a 30 year mortgage! However, whenever someone has to look for a place to settle, many times their first instinct is to purchase a house rather than rent it. Or even if they don't have that inclination due to financial constraints, they certainly have a yearning for it.
But while renting a home may not seem ideal for some, it has its perks, among which not having to look after maintenance is at the top of the list. That said, many renters don't realise that they don't need to get involved in their rental unit's upkeep and let the landlord take the wheels. And to be fair, they are not really to blame for it as the rules regarding maintenance of a rented property can be a little unclear.
With that in mind, we decided to go over the reasons why one should not do their own maintenance when renting a place. If you have been uncertain about asking your landlord to look after the upkeep of their property and have been doing it yourself, the following pointers will help you see why you don’t have to worry about it.
The Law Doesn’t Require You To
The first and foremost reason not to do your own maintenance when renting a property is the law, which demands landlords to do that. That’s right, per the real estate regulations, a property owner is legally bound to manage their rental and not expect the tenant to do it.
Of course, you must fix the things you damage, but you don't need to do much beyond those repairs. Here is a quick rundown of what you should do in terms of the maintenance of a rental.
- Keep it clean and sanitary.
- Make sure you or your guests don’t damage it in any way
- Fix minor problems such as changing a fused bulb
- Don’t make any permanent changes to the property
Aside from the responsibilities mentioned above, you don't have to do much as a tenant. For all the bigger maintenance needs, you must reach out to the landlord.
If Something Goes Wrong, You Will Be Liable
An important factor to consider when maintaining a home as a renter is that you'll be held responsible if anything goes wrong. That is, imagine you get a pipe fixed, but somehow it made matters worse, perhaps because the repairer wasn't skilled enough. In such a case, you will have to bear the costs that come up as a result. And it goes without saying that expenses incurred due to a messed up maintenance job will strain your pocket as you will have to make double repairs.
You will first have to correct the mistake your worker made the first time, and second, get the initial repair job done again (but the right way). You may not bear the costs of the second maintenance task, but even so, you will have had to pay for upkeep expenses twice.
Enjoy the luxury of not having to maintain a rented unit and not take up a task you are not legally bound to do. Get your landlord to take care of everything so that you only have to pay the rent!