Landlord Responsibilities

Being a landlord has its share of monetary and non monetary gains. However, there are many responsibilities that you have to shoulder and carry out efficiently. Being a landlord doesn't mean you only have to collect money and maintain your tenants accounts, you also have too look into each and every landlord repair responsibility that need to be followed. Some of these are like doing maintenance works in the rental property, preparing the required legal paperwork and also protecting landlord's rights to the property, he/she is giving on lease.

Commercial Landlord Responsibilities
When you take commercial property on lease, it's very important that you understand the basic landlord responsibilities, that he/she has to follow. On a commercial property mostly tenants are responsible for internal repairs and in some cases external repairs too. Many of these repair conditions depend on your lease and contract that you have with your landlord.

• When your landlord is giving you a commercial property on lease, he/she has to allow tenants to move in without any disturbance.
• Mention in the lease agreement, conditions related to repair and maintenance of the property, if it gets damaged.
• Ensure that your property complies with building regulations.
• Make sure that all electrical equipment you provide to the tenants are safe and usable. Make sure the furniture you provide is fire resistant. This article on how to lease commercial real estate will give you a clear idea on what documentation you require while leasing commercial properties.

Landlord Legal Responsibilities
Well as I said before, being a landlord is not a piece of cake. You have to be cautious and alert at all times. You should know your rights and responsibilities towards your tenant and your property. Let's have a look at some legal duties of a landlord.

• Always maintain and repair the premises according to the lease contract.
• Provide adequate locks and keys of the house.
• Make sure all electrical appliances, plumbing and heating are in working order.
• Make sure the property is clean and safe from insects, rodents and other pests before the tenant moves in. It is the responsibility of the landlord to control infestation in the house even after the tenant has moved in.
• Provide smoke detectors and make sure they are of good quality and in good working condition. Tenants are not responsible for maintenance of smoke detectors in apartments for rent.
• Law states landlord must give a two day notice of intent, if he/she wants to enter the property at reasonable times. The law also states that tenants cannot stop the landlord to enter the property when he/she has given one day's notice of intent to enter into the premises due to various reasons.

Landlord Maintenance Responsibilities
If something in the residential property needs maintenance, the immediate thing to be done by the tenant is to provide a written application of the problem and give it to the landlord or the person who comes and collects the rent. So now maintenance responsibilities of the landlord come into the picture. Let's see what they are.

• Major problems can happen in an apartment if no care is taken. For instance, the tenant above you might cause the bathtub to overflow, which causes leaking in your ceiling and walls. A tenant has the right to notify this problem to the landlord and your landlord must solve it within 24 hours. If no solution has been found out, tenant can take legal action against the landlord.
• Unlike a major repair like a leak, minor issues have to be managed by the tenant. If the tenant has a problem with some parts of the apartment, it's he/she who has to repair it, not the landlord. The smart thing to do over here is to negotiate for rate and sign your agreement at a lower rent value.
• But if the apartment is in need of repairs because of the tenant, its solely his/her responsibility to repair it. A landlord may send a bill of repairs and if the tenant can't pay it, the landlord has the right to deduct the cost from your security deposit.

Tenant and Landlord Responsibilities
Both tenant and landlord should understand their basic rights and responsibilities and they should communicate their expectations with each other and make sure that they both make an effort from their part to maintain the property.

Landlord Responsibilities	Tenant Responsibilities
Maintaining tenant's home in an ideal living condition and at landlord's expense maintaining health, safety and housing standards.	Tenants must pay their rent on time.
Never prevent supply of cable, water, electricity, fuel and other basic necessities unless the tenant has failed to pay for all these services.	Behave well and maintain the house. If repairs are required due to a negligent act of a tenant, then it is the tenant's duty to repair it.
No seizing of the property without legal procedures for rent default and or various other things.	Contact landlord in case of urgent repairs or services.

So I hope now you have a detailed idea about the various duties of a landlord. Never lease your property without having a tenant screening session. In any scenario, landlords are legally allowed to make sure that tenants follow rules and regulations pertaining to the property standards.