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 Daily Independent Online.
* Monday, August 09, 2004.
How long will your
property manager answer typical
repair requests?
By Olaniyi Ola
[email protected]
When
trying to decide which residential apartment will be best for you, it is
important to consider the amount of support your landlord (or landlady as
the case may be) is willing to provide for his or her tenants. To
determine this, you should find out the way such property owners handle
potential issues like maintenance as well as security apartment. It is
important to find out the way your landlord handles repairs before they
become a problem. You might be looking at an apartment with a wonderful
bathtub but if your landlord is never there to fix a problem associated
with complex fittings, you might not ever get to enjoy it.
You need to find a residential
accommodation with a good property manager and maintenance system. You
are supposed to know who and how maintenance and security problems will
be handled. Ask the landlord or manager handling prospects how repair
requests are handled and if there are restrictions to maintenance hours.
Check how long a typical
repair requests will be answered. The answers you get on these questions
should give you a little insight into the way facility management issues
relating to the property are handled. If you do not get much of an answer
out of your enquiries, you might consider asking a resident of that
property. If the person you approach is irritated by the way the property
owner and manager handles repair requests, he or she will be more than
happy to vent his bottled anger to a prospective confidant.
It is also important to find
out how your would-be residence handles security issues. Find out if
there is any type of security arrangements on ground. Ask if the keys of
the apartment have been changed since the old tenants move out. You will
need a research into the area to determine how safe it has been in the
last couple of years. The fact that an apartment looks clean does not
mean that it is conducive for living. Find out about the neighbourhood
crime statistics. Once you have discussed both maintenance and security
issues with the property manager of potential residence, you should be
able to make a confident decision on which place you will decide to call
home.
As a tenant, you have many
advantages over the property owner because you are not under any
obligation to embark on a major repair works on the property. But this
does not mean that you do not have any other responsibility above and
beyond getting the payments for the rent made on time. The code of ethics
guarding the landlord-tenant relationship demands that you are required
to do several things.
One of the most important
things that you have to do is to keep your own apartment or house safe
and in good sanitary conditions disposing of trash and garbage in a
proper sanitary manner. While your landlord will usually maintain the
outside of a rental unit depending on the lease agreement, you are
responsible for the interior. Failing to keep the fittings and other
fixtures of rented apartment in good conditions could result in the loss
of your refundable deposit on damages. You also need to keep all the
facilities that the landlord provides in good working order in the course
of your stay in the property.
It is also the responsibility
of the tenant to use the electrical and plumbing fixtures properly
leaving them clean always but if any of these fixtures break, it is your
responsibility to contact the landlord because your landlord is
responsible for keeping these things in good working order. Unless these fixtures
have broken because of your carelessness your landlord is typically
responsible for making the repairs.
Your stay in a property does
not permit you or your guests and visitors to damage the fittings in the
apartment.
Just as you have your right to
quiet enjoyment, endeavour not to disturb other tenants. It is the
landlord's responsibility to make sure that the noise and comfort level
of the other tenants is appropriate, and in order to do this, he would
want you to help them out. Permit your landlord to enter your apartment
if he makes a reasonable request and gives you at least 24 hours notice.
Reasonable request would be to inspect the property and not to snoop
around through your things at every given opportunity throughout your
tenancy.
You have the right to your
privacy, and if your landlord continually demands to enter your
apartment, you should contact the property manager or real estate agent
you take a legal action on the issue. A good relationship between you and
your landlord will allow guests or family members to stay in your
apartment beyond a reasonable amount of time, even if you have not
notified your landlord the number of dependant has moved beyond what was
agreed in the tenancy agreement.
If you are aware of your
responsibilities as a tenant, and you follow the rules, you should have a
happy and healthy stay. On the other hand, failure to do a combination of
these things could result in loss of your deposit on damages or worst
still being sued in a court of law, which may ultimately lead to strained
relationships and possibly, evictions.
If you are curious about what
exactly your landlord is responsible for, here is a list of things he can
and cannot do. According to law, your landlord must make sure that your
house or apartment complies with all building, housing and health codes
that significantly affect your health and safety.
Your landlord, apart from
following the building or health codes, should make all the major repairs
necessary to make your house or apartment a haven of comfort. Keep in
mind that this means your landlord is responsible for necessary repairs,
not recasting your window nets for aesthetic appeal. He is also to take
care that all electrical and plumbing systems are in good working order
in addition to giving you reasonable notice before he enters your
apartment for the purpose of physical inspection of the property interior.
Your landlord must not
increase your rent, decrease the attention to the maintenance of the
property, issue or even threaten to issue an eviction as a result of your
complaining to him or to the planning authorities about a code violation.
He cannot shut off any of your
utilities or services, change the locks on your apartment or threaten any
of these acts in order to make you move out of your apartment. You should
also know that your landlord should not enter your apartment for the
purpose of physical inspection of fittings and fixtures without
consulting you or repeatedly demand to enter. In most leases there is a
clause stating that the landlord must give you reasonable notice before
entering. The exception to this rule is a goodwill visit on the platform
of good friendship in a sustained relationship. Typically, tenancy
agreements should state that your landlord must give you a reasonable
notice and if your landlord is constantly entering your apartment whether
he gives notice or not, you do not have to forcefully withstand it. All
you need to do is consult your real estate agent or property manager
before you take a drastic step.
A landlord should not refuse
to rent a unit to a prospective tenant due to your race, sex, religion,
age, and previous condition of servitude, physical limitation, national
origin or sexual preference. If your landlord has done any of these
things, you have been discriminated against.
Regardless of whether or not
you are behind on your rent, your landlord still has no right to do any
of the things mentioned or listed above. If your landlord does any of
these things, you should consult a lawyer. In some cases such as forced
entry or theft, the landlord should be reported to the police as well.
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