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>Renting
Laws >Advice on dealing with landlords
Advice
On Dealing With Landlords
This
website explains the official renting laws of Lexington, but you and
your landlord may have a relationship that goes outside of these
rules. It is MORE important to worry about your relationship with your
landlord than it is to stick to the law! Consider the following advice
when dealing with your landlord:
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If
you can build a good relationship with your landlord then s/he
will probably allow a lot of flexibility with your lease. S/he
can cut you breaks on late rent and other terms in the agreement.
But, you cannot expect this kind of treatment from your landlord
if you are rude or demanding. Likewise, if s/he ignores your
needs it will be harder for you to treat the landlord with
respect. Both you and your landlord must work to make your
relationship easier. Try to keep up your end of the relationship.
-
The
landlord-tenant relationship is automatically filled with tension.
It is important to try to minimize that tension whenever possible.
This will make the entire renting experience easier for you.
-
COMMUNICATION
is the most important component to a landlord-tenant relationship.
It is very easy to jump to conclusions about your landlord’s
intentions and to make false assumptions when a problem arises.
Try to keep in contact with your landlord so that you always know
what is really going on. This will also make it easier to talk to
your landlord about financial burdens and other problems that you
might run into as a tenant.
-
Most
of the time the landlord has the upper hand in a tenant-landlord
relationship. Tenants often feel powerless against landlords. It
is important for you to know your rights so you can prevent your
landlord from treating you unfairly. Look over this website
carefully to familiarize yourself with your rights.
-
Sometimes
a landlord will have good intentions, but s/he does not
communicate them very well. This might be more likely to happen if
you are constantly nagging your landlord about the smallest of
repairs. Try not to peg your landlord as an enemy immediately, and
be fair with requests.
-
Many landlords do
not own the property that you are renting; they are still paying
mortgages. If you do not pay rent on time or do not pay your full
rent, you can cause a lot of financial stress for your landlord.
This does not mean that you should never ask for a break on the
rent! You just need to TALK to your landlord and find out what is
happening with their financial situations as well.
-
Sometimes
a good landlord must deal with a difficult tenant – e.g. s/he
must evict a tenant or his/her property is severely damaged
because of a tenant. In this situation the landlord is likely to
be harsher to future tenants. S/he might not be flexible with
the lease or might raise the rent. Sometimes apartments are
damaged so badly that the security deposit does not cover the cost. Such situations cause landlords to be distrustful of
tenants. Try to take the landlord’s
point-of-view into consideration when you rent an apartment. Try
to consider how your actions will affect future renters.
-
If
you are genuinely unsatisfied with your landlord,
you can always ask him/her in a respectful manner to allow you to
not pay full rent during the inconvenience.
-
Try
to distinguish between an extreme situation and one that is no big
deal. You cannot expect your landlord to fix every crack in the
wall. You must prioritize what really NEEDS to be fixed.
-
If
you get frustrated because your landlord is ignoring your requests
to make repairs, you might want to call a Code Inspector to
take action against your landlord. However, keep in mind that Code
Enforcement should be used as an ABSOLUTE LAST RESORT. Calling
a Code Inspector on your landlord is like waging war. You also
need to notify your landlord BEFORE you take such action. After
you call a Code Inspector, your landlord is probably going to be
unwilling to cut you any slack on your rent or the lease. It may
be a necessary action to take against some landlords.
-
If
you are having major difficulties with your landlord, you should
record everything that happens in writing. This doesn’t have to
be formal; it could just be a personal journal. You should also
communicate formally with the landlord in writing (instead of just
on the phone) and keep a copy of everything you send (see Introductory
Advice). If you end up going to court against your landlord,
these records will help validate your side of the story.
-
Sometimes
landlords are horrible. When you feel that you have a difficult
landlord, try to weigh the situation to figure out how bad the
landlord actually is. Do not jump to unfair conclusions. Be
respectful and try to keep the relationship with your landlord
healthy, but also be aware that there are some evil landlords out
there. See Landlord Noncompliance for advice on how to deal
with this situation.
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If
you get into a dispute with one of your roommates, try NOT to
bring the landlord into it. It should be your responsibility to
get all of the rent paid even if one of your roommates is being
difficult. If one of you moves out, it is your responsibility to
deal with it (see How To Deal With
Roommate Problems). If you bring your landlord into the
situation, s/he can just replace an old roommate with a complete
stranger. The landlord’s concern is simply to get the rent paid.
If you want a choice about who you live with, you should keep
control over your situation and do not bring the landlord into it.
- There
are 3 different KINDS OF LANDLORDS:
1.
Real Estate Holding Company – usually a large business
that owns a lot of property. They often employ management companies to
make repairs. In this situation, you would send your rent money to an
owner but call another place when you need a repair made. It might be more difficult to deal with problems that arise
between you and this kind of landlord (especially if the company has a
reputation for being problematic). It might also be easier to deal
with problems because the company must worry about keeping a good
reputation. You can never be sure what you are getting unless you ask
other tenants that have rented from the same company.
2.
Smaller Company – a smaller version of the company
described above. The difference is that the smaller company might be
owned and run by one family or one small group of people. This family
might own several houses instead of large amounts of property. Just
like the above company, the smaller company might be easier or more
difficult to deal with when a problem arises. You can never be sure
what you are getting unless you ask other tenants who have rented
from the company.
3. Individual
Landlords
– individuals that own one or more apartments. The person usually
makes repairs on his/her own. With individual landlords it is most
important to create a healthy landlord-tenant relationship. The owner
often wants the tenant to be happy; but s/he could also not care about
the tenant at all. You can never be sure what you are getting unless you
ask current tenants about the landlord.
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