Renting. In this situation, someone does not own the land that they are living on, so there may be building rules they must follow because of that.
In the United States, about 36% of people are renters.
If you have a tenant, you may be wondering what their responsibilities are to maintain the property. What do landlords have to worry about?
This is your guide.
Keep on Top of Taking Out the Trash
Something that tenants need to be responsible for is taking out the trash. With common sense implied, you would think that this is something they would manage themselves.
This is not always the case. Some people stack garbage until they have nowhere to put it in their apartment. Other people fail to place trash in the right part of the building that it belongs to.
Doing either one of these things can cause problems. For example, it can create a mess and stench in your building, making it less desirable to other renters.
The second thing it can do is attract pests to an apartment building.
As a landlord, it is typically your job to exterminate any bugs before renting out an apartment to a new tenant. However, a tenant may not be helping matters by leaving trash everywhere.
If they do, it can attract the bugs you worked hard to keep out of the apartment. In turn, it can affect a tenant's quality of life.
Understand and Follow the Local Building Codes
As a landlord, you must follow building codes in your jurisdiction. In this case, it would be for the state of New York.
While that does not explicitly fall on the tenant, there are some things that you should push onto your tenant to help you follow these building codes.
For example, in New York, minimum standards must be followed to ensure the code is enforced. One of those standards is a notification of a fire or an explosion.
You may call the fire department to put out the fire or clean up an explosion. From there, the local fire department chief will tell a landlord they must notify a code enforcement official of what happened.
Since you are legally required to let this person know if an event like that happens, you should encourage your tenants to call you or the fire department if there is any trouble. This is because if your building gets caught with unfixed fire damage, it can be a world of trouble for you.
Learn to Manage Your Tenant Better
These are just a few things you should have your tenant do for you. You must know building codes so that you can make sure your tenant is following them too. Also, encourage clean habits to avoid unwanted guests.
Do you need more help with property management? Message our team today with your questions.
