4
Tenants Responsibilities
Tenants should treat the property like it ’ s their own property . This encourages the landlord to respond speedily to most requests by the tenant . Where damages are wear and tear , the landlord is obliged to do the repairs , but where the tenant has caused the damage , then the tenant must fix the damages speedily because they know they caused the problem .
Sometimes landlords would blame the tenant for a fallen ceiling , where there is not even a trap door . It ’ s pretty obvious the tenant had no access to this ceiling in any way and therefore it could be a fault from the ceiling installation or something to do with the property itself . Therefore , the tenant that generally looks after the property would be more believable than a careless one . Also , it ’ s important for the tenant to understand their responsibilities and gain clarity on which items are his / her responsibility .
The biggest responsibility a tenant has is paying the monthly rental on time , every time . The tenant must also not remove items that belong to the landlord , even if they love this special light for example , they are not allowed to take it or even replace it with another one .
5
Continued Property
Inspections From Landlords In commercial rentals , there is not much that is expected to be left unattended to unless it is not really a business . Naturally a commercial property would be well kept if it ’ s use is for commercial reasons .
However , with residential properties , it is important that an inspection is done prior to the tenant moving in , and all parties must agree to the defects if any . It is important that all damages and possible repairs are stated to the tenant , and that the tenant notes the condition of the property prior to moving in . The landlord is obliged to remedy defects that would render the property uninhabitable . Sometimes even if it ’ s not an actual structural defect , but something like an infestation of cockroaches would be something the landlord would be required to address .
These inspections have to be documented so that on termination of the lease , all parties can refer to the inspection document to ensure that the tenant has not caused any damages .
The most important caution , however , is the fact that sometimes landlords march into their rented properties , and demand to do ‘ things ’ on the property . It is important that the landlord understands that inspections should be arranged timeously , unless asked by the tenant or agent to attend to something . The act of just going
36 NOV 2021 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine