Landlords bear much of the maintenance responsibility for their properties, but did you know that tenants are also required to pitch in?
Tenants are legally required to perform specific maintenance tasks. These are known as legal maintenance responsibilities. Tenants can also pick up extra property maintenance responsibilities, called optional responsibilities.
What counts as legal and optional varies from state to state. That's why we cover everything you need to know in Kansas City, Missouri. Learn more about property maintenance and your legal duties in this quick guide.
Legal Tenant Maintenance Responsibilities
Tenants agree to live peaceably in their building when they sign a lease agreement. This means that tenants must respect their neighbors and common areas. It also means tenants must avoid damaging their units, furniture, and appliances.
This line of legal thinking gives tenants their responsibilities. First, tenants must remove the trash and dispose of any organic waste. The idea here is that tenants have to minimize a bug infestation risk.
Second, tenants must avoid using electrical or plumbing features unreasonably. For example, tenants should avoid plugging many appliances into one socket because of the fire risk.
Landlords can withhold deposits if wanton use of these fixtures damages the unit. They can also claim damages if the property damage is worth more than the security deposit.
Lastly, tenants must treat the structure like electrical and plumbing fixtures. If a hammock or a wild party damages a wall, that violates this principle.
Optional Tenant Maintenance Responsibilities
Optional responsibilities apply to maintenance, which a landlord usually takes care of. Some examples include painting the place or fixing damaged flooring.
Sometimes, landlords offer reduced rates to tenants who pick these responsibilities up. This can help sweeten a deal when talking about lease renewals. It can also help a landlord who lives far from the rental unit.
Tenants have a lot to gain by taking on optional responsibilities. Besides a possible discount, they also have freedom.
A tenant can get started with a repair job immediately. Usually, you have to wait for the landlord or property manager to respond before the repairs commence. Many people find it less frustrating to do it themselves.
If you want to pick up extra responsibilities, negotiate and include them in the lease agreement. This advice also counts if you give your tenants additional responsibilities.
Having these things written down makes dealing with possible disputes quicker and easier. Tenants and landlords can also coordinate maintenance jobs to make conflict less likely.
Learn More About Property Maintenance Today
There are two types of property maintenance responsibilities in tenant law. Legal responsibilities are the ones that tenants have to take on. Optional responsibilities are those that a tenant can do but doesn't have to.
The legal duties revolve around avoiding long-term damage (including bugs, smoke, smells, etc.). Optional duties are a landlord's responsibility by default, but they can be passed to tenants (best done by agreement).
If you want a property management company to help streamline your maintenance, we can help you. At PMI Fountain City, we give our clients nothing but the best service and price.
