10 Tips for Tenants
The best way to win over a prospective landlord is to be prepared.
- The best way to win over a prospective landlord is to be prepared.
Bringing the following information when you meet prospective landlords will
give you a competitive edge over other applicants:
- a completed rental application
- written references from landlords, employers,
friends and colleagues
- and a current copy of your credit report.
-
Carefully review all the important conditions of the tenancy before you sign
on the dotted line. Your lease or rental agreement may contain a provision
that you find unacceptable -- for example, restrictions on guests or pets,
design alterations or running a home business.
- To avoid
disputes or misunderstandings with your landlord, get everything in writing.
Keep copies of any correspondence and follow up an oral agreement with a letter,
setting out your understanding. For example, if you ask your landlord to make
repairs, put your request in writing and keep a copy for yourself. If he agrees
orally, send a letter confirming this fact.
- Protect
your privacy rights. Next to disputes over rent or security deposits, one
of the most common and emotion-filled misunderstandings arises over a landlord's
right to enter a rental unit and a tenant's right to be left alone, If you
understand your privacy rights (for example, the amount of notice your landlord
must provide before entering), it will be easier to protect them.
- Know your
rights to live in a habitable rental unit -- and don't give them up. Landlords
are required to offer their tenants livable premises including adequate weatherproofing;
heat, water and electricity; and clean, sanitary and structurally safe premises.
If your rental unit is not kept in good repair, you have a number of options
ranging from withholding a portion of the rent to pay for repairs to calling
the building inspector (who can usually order the landlord to make repairs)
to moving out without liability for your future rent.
- Keep communication
open with your landlord. If there's a problem -- for example, if the landlord
is slow to make repairs -- talk with the landlord to see if the issue can
be resolved short of a nasty legal battle. Landlord-Tenant Dispute Resolution
provides some advice.
- Purchase
renters' insurance to cover your valuables. Your landlord's insurance policy
will not cover your losses. Renters' insurance typically costs $350 a year
for a $50,000 policy that covers loss due to theft or damage caused by other
people or natural disasters.
- Make sure
the security deposit refund procedures are spelled out in your lease or rental
agreement. To protect yourself and avoid any misunderstandings, make sure
your lease or rental agreement is clear on the use and refund of security
deposits, including allowable deductions.
- Learn whether
your building and neighborhood are safe, and what you can expect your landlord
to do about it if they aren't. Get copies of any state or local laws that
require safety devices such as deadbolts and window locks, check out the property's
vulnerability to intrusion by a criminal, and learn whether criminal incidents
have already occurred. If a crime is highly likely, your landlord may be obligated
to take some steps to protect you.
- Know when
to fight an eviction notice -- and when to move. Unless you have the law and
provable facts on your side, fighting an eviction notice is usually short-sighted.
If you lose an eviction lawsuit, you may end up hundreds (even thousands)
of dollars in debt and may damage your credit rating.
