Who’s Responsible for Property Maintenance? Landlord or Tenant?

Oftentimes, property owners struggle with the issue of liability when it comes to maintenance on their properties. Depending on the circumstances and the relevant laws and regulations that apply in your specific region, liability may vary for property maintenance and repairs on your property.

Who'S Responsible For Property Maintenance?

Owning a rental property is a great way to bring in some extra income and hedge yourself against inflation. But, it can be challenging to handle all of the aspects of property maintenance and repair.

Oftentimes, property owners struggle with the issue of liability when it comes to maintenance on their properties. Depending on the circumstances and the relevant laws and regulations that apply in your specific region, liability may vary for property maintenance and repairs on your property.

By understanding more about property maintenance and liability, you can navigate your next maintenance issue effectively, efficiently and in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.

Meanwhile, did you know that lenders often care about how you manage maintenance for your investment properties? That means you need to be sure to fall in line with their property maintenance code enforcement to avoid allowing your property to depreciate too much and lose value. This is because in many cases, that kind of negligence could cost you the mortgage and potential the property as a whole.

To make sure you remained informed, aware and prepared, we want to offer you a free strategy call to discuss lender policies regarding property maintenance, renovations and more. All you need to do is click the link below to get started now

Types of property maintenance issues and liability

In general, renters expect landlords to be responsible for property maintenance needs at a rental property. While this is often the case, there are some gray areas in which tenants might be liable for the cost of repairs. In most cases, these issues are laid out in the rental agreement a landlord has with their tenant.

While every rental situation is different, there are a few basic types of maintenance that follow consistent patterns when it comes to liability.

Top Landlord and Tenant property maintenance issues;

There are many maintenance issues that you will need to look over when operating a rental property. Some of these tasks will fall to you as the property owner, but there are cases where the job of maintaining the property does fall onto the tenant. As a result, you need to understand each task and when it becomes your problem vs their problem.

Appliance malfunctions

Landlords are responsible for the maintenance and repair of appliances that come with the unit. Tenants are responsible for any appliances that they bring with them when they move. In some cases, however, a tenant may be responsible for repairs if they do something to damage an appliance in the unit. This is typically covered in a rental agreement and falls under the category of tenant vandalism or negligence.

Wear and tear

Dents in the walls, chips in the floor and scuffed up cabinetry are common in rental properties. In most cases, a landlord will conduct an inspection of the property. The landlord can determine whether the tenant has caused any damage requiring repair. The landlord will tally up these charges and take the cost out of the security deposit of the renter or bill the renter directly. To minimize any conflict with your tenant in relation to a move-out inspection, you must do a walk through of the unit with your tenant, when they move-in. A walk-through allows you to establish a baseline to compare the move-out inspection to.

Discover Residential Property Management With This Step By Step Guide

Mold

If your property is located in a particularly humid climate, mold is a major concern. Some regions have guidelines in place that dictate mold exposure limits in residential units. It’s important to handle mold proactively to ensure the safety of your tenants. In most cases, mold removal and remediation are the responsibility of the landlord and not the tenant.

Protecting yourself as a landlord

There’s no way to completely eliminate your liability as a landlord. It’s important for you to take steps to ensure your tenants are taking responsibility for property maintenance and repairs they are liable for.

The best way for you to protect yourself and avoid conflict with your tenant, when it comes to repairs, is to lay out detailed expectations. Create an agreement with your tenant that outlines all responsibilities.

Go over this agreement extensively with your tenant before they sign, so they know what to expect. A written agreement is useful for reference if a problem comes up in the future. It’s also your first line of defense if a legal dispute about liability escalates and you’re forced to represent yourself as a responsible landlord.

As a investor, it’s likely you will experience some property maintenance issues at your property at some point or another. The most important thing for you to do is to plan ahead so that you have an agreement in place before issues arise. This kind of preparation will help you ensure that property maintenance is handled properly while allowing you to avoid conflict with your tenants. It’s the best way to set expectations and provide everyone involved with peace of mind.

Maintenance and Your Mortgage

In many cases, staying on top of maintenance is essential to maintaining your mortgage. So, you need a strategy to keep things in order.

At the same time, you need a strategy to ensure that your mortgage is in order so that you can focus on maintenance more often. That is why we want to offer you a free strategy call, to help you get your finances sorted while you spend you time prioritizing the rest.

All you need to do is click the link below to get started today.

Who’s Responsible for Property Maintenance, Landlord or Tenant? With Scott Dillingham