There seems to be a general consensus that renting a home is easy. No need to worry about a mortgage or paying council rates, paying for plumbers etc but as a permanent renter I can tell you renting can be at times very stressful. The constant fear that the rent is going up or the owner will sell every time a periodic inspection is done or frustration with repairs’ not being done that you may feel are urgent but the landlord doesn’t. Here are a few handy tips from me as a permanent renter and agent to get you through your tenancy. 1) You are a caretaker of someone else’s property. Although you may treat it as your home please remember it is someone else’s property. Put yourself in the landlord shoes…If you owned a home and you would like the tenants to look after your asset for you? Looking after a property will decrease the chances of a landlord evicting you and in some rare cases not increasing your rent. 2) When you rent a home you take that home as is. If you are allergic to the carpet, paint or certain types of plants on the property may I suggest you look to reside elsewhere. Time and time again tenants move into properties then complain these things existed when they moved in. Before you sign the lease ask your agent if you may view the property again. If you see anything that may affect the enjoyment of the home please raise your concern before you sign the lease. You are given a chance when completing your condition report to bring up things like marks on walls and existing stains on flooring. 3) Reevaluate your request for repairs. Whilst most owners are happy to maintain their property and attend to most repairs requests for putting a pool in, changing carports into garages, adding another room and fully renovating the property are totally unreasonable and will not endear you to the owner or the property manager that is stuck in the middle. 4) Whilst repairs are sometimes necessary and you must report every issue that arises, and please please You must report any leaks in the property the moment you notice it..do not wait a few months or wait till the ceiling collapses on top of you, the landlord may chose to only address those that affect day to day living. Please also be aware that your property manager does not make the decisions as to what is repaired and what is not we can only advise. In a perfect world we would love everything done for you as a happy tenant, happy landlord happy property manager. Please note that changes to legislation no longer allow you to hold back rental payments for repairs not being addressed. 5) Mould… this is probably the most common complaint on the North Shore. Whilst the landlord is responsible for fixing roof leaks, guttering and other major structural problems that may increase the risk of mould there are things that you as a tenant is responsible for. If your property does not include garden maintenance you must ensure that vegetation around the property itself does not inhibit the natural air flow underneath or around the house. If you are constantly using a dryer then you must open windows and turn fans on to allow ventilation. You must clean off surface mould especially in bathrooms and laundry’s. Mould breeds mould! A little known fact also is that if dust gets damp it too can grow mould so whilst I don’t want to tell you that you must dust regularly (and for goodness sake don’t tell my mum I said that). Dusting regularly can also reduce mould. Follow a few of these things and your life as a renter should be a pleasant one
Posted on: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 07:32:48 +0000
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