How Can I Make My Rental Property More Attractive?
A chief duty of landlords is to ensure a habitable space is provided for their renters. To achieve this, they need to fulfill their responsibilities under the landlord-tenant law. Keeping your rental home well-maintained helps limit normal wear and tear. Over the years, with plenty of occupants, your rental space is bound to show signs of use.
Below are the duties of both landlords and tenants to maintain the rental unit as specified by Nevada landlord-tenant law.
Property Maintenance Responsibilities of a Landlord
In general, landlords are required to perform the following maintenance-related duties:
Provide Trash Receptacles Around the Property
Landlords will want to maintain a clean environment, and one way to do this is to issue garbage bins in the rental unit. How many trash containers and how what size should depend on the number of residents staying on the property and the frequency of the garbage collection in your neighborhood.
Ensure There Is Available Running Water
Supplying water is basic since the rental can become unfit to live in without a constant stream of water. Water is an essential need. Further, heaters must be available to provide hot water to the residents anytime they require it.
Follow Building Codes
Landlords need to make sure their rental properties are safe and secure for renters to stay in. This means that there must be installed smoke and carbon dioxide detectors. They should also immediately address property-related issues like mold, lead paint, and pest infestation.
Each unit is also limited to a certain number of occupants, and landlords must ensure that this is followed by the renters as a safety protocol. Further, landlords must check that the essential home systems are all functional, namely plumbing, electrical, and foundation structure.
Ensure Common Areas Are Well-Maintained
Since renters often hang out in common areas, landlords must ensure they're kept clean. Proper lighting must also be to limit accidents and offer a safe environment.
For areas renters often use, such as stairs, a regular inspection must be done, including checking that banisters are steady. In addition, floors must also be evaluated to prevent critical falls. Loose tiles must be replaced, and there must be warning signs for newly mopped floors to avoid injuries.
Perform Property Repairs
Ideally, your rental unit must be free from damage, so if you spot any issues, it's recommended to have a contractor fix them. If the cause of the damage was due to tenants' negligence and not normal wear and tear, then they can be required to pay for the repair fees.
Make Sure Vital Services Are Functional
If your home systems aren't running smoothly, your rental space will be inconvenient. As a landlord, prioritize getting them repaired immediately. If the service is interrupted due to non-payment by a tenant, they should pay right away to ensure the supply of water and steady electricity.
Ways Tenants Are Legally Required to Maintain the Property
We often hear about the landlord's duties in property maintenance, but renters must also share the responsibility of taking care of a rental property. Under the law, they have certain responsibilities that are listed below.
Keep the Property Clean
A landlord can only do so much. Though trash receptacles are provided, it's still up to the tenants to properly use them for trash removal. If garbage is scattered around the unit, it can draw in pests and insects that thrive in unclean areas.
Make Sure the Space Is Safe
Renters can contribute to a safer living space by removing barriers to emergency exits. They can also do this by refraining from tampering with the batteries of smoke or carbon monoxide detectors.
Comply with the Building and Housing Codes
Building laws are created to protect residents. This includes keeping a maximum number of occupants in a building. The lease or rental agreement must specify and enforce this number as a safety precaution.
Why should renters follow the policy? Risks are minimized in emergencies such as fire since exiting the building can be quicker. It also slows wear and tear compared to a unit with several tenants.
Is the landlord in charge of paying the utility bills? If so, it would be unfair to shoulder the cost of water and electricity for an excess number of people residing in the unit.
Stop Mold Growth
Mold is a common property issue when excess moisture is found inside a unit. Renters can prevent mold by switching fans on or opening bathroom windows to help dry an area quicker. Renters must also report a mold issue to give landlords time to arrange mold remediation.
Avoid Disturbing Lead Paint
Properties built before 1978 often used lead paint. Landlords are required to disclose the presence of lead paint on the property. Tenants in the property need to limit activities that can impact potential lead paint areas, like drilling holes in walls or repainting them.
Renters should seek approval from the landlords before they start redecorating an old rental unit.
Respect the Property
Renters must take care of the rental property and maintain its cleanliness. The following are maintenance tasks renters can do:
Limit rust and mold by cleaning up plumbing fixtures.
Prevent accumulated dirt by performing regular tidying.
Avoid abusive or neglectful actions to minimize property damage.
Bottom Line
Property repairs can't be a renter's sole responsibility, and landlords can't make a clause in their lease that says it is. It's all about working together; the proper agreement must be when fixing property repairs.
If this all seems complicated and you'd prefer to have peace of mind when it comes to managing your rental space, you can opt to hire the services of a trusted property manager. Contact Freedom House Property Management today!
Learn more about why you should choose us regarding maintenance in the video below.
