Recently It seems I've had to deal with more and more renters who seemed to have no understanding of the lease contract. I don't know if they feel like it is just there for formality sake and the clauses are just a guideline or they aren't even bothering to read it. I've recently had to evict two tenants for violating it. One lady painted her whole apartment a rather obnoxious shade of pink, which I probably wouldn't have know about if she hadn't decide to then put up a bunch of shelves up, rather poorly I might add, that ended up falling down and tearing apart the wall. Then she decided to complain about it and demand that I fix it.

Seriously, the paint, I could have lived with, but destroying the wall and then trying to get me to pay for it, that was too much. Told her she had 30 days to fix it or I would evict. She of course didn't fix it. 

The lease is a legal agreement but either some people don't understand that or they don't care. I mean there has always been people who pull this crap, but it seems like there has been a steady rise in such incidents and not just for me.

Protect Yourself, Take Pictures

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Again and again I see tenants cheated out of their security deposit and unable to do anything. Often because they did not take the proper steps to protect themselves from a bad landlord. Many not realizing that they were at risk until it was too late.

Its important to make sure that you take pictures and videos of the apartment, both before you move in and right before you leave. That way you have evidence to prove that the damage was not there prior to your leaving or in the case of previous damage, already there before you move in.

Landlord Responsibilities

General landlord responsibilities include:

• Know your tenant rental rights. The best way to protect your rights is to know them.
• Learn about tenant landlord laws regarding the State/Province you are renting in.

Providing a livable unit... Livability means that the unit should:

• Be weather and waterproof
• Have working plumbing
• Provide enough hot and cold running water
• Have a working heating system
• Have an electrical system in good working order
• Be free from infestations of insects and rodents
• Have sufficient trash cans
• Have floors, stairways and railings in good repair
• Have natural lighting in every room
• Have working windows that open at least halfway or mechanical ventilation
• Have safe fire or emergency exits leading to
  street or hallway
• Have a working deadbolt lock on main entrance
• Have working security devices on windows
• Have working smoke detectors
• Have a secure mailbox facility that prevents Identity Thieves from stealing mail

Landlords should show respect and consideration for tenants by:

• Providing the tenant with a list on move-in-day such as where to put the cardboard boxes, where to park, a vacuum to clean up any mess, flyers or brochures for a pizza delivery or Chinese food, show up and ask how things are going, help where you can and perhaps make suggestions where required
• Treating all tenants equally
• Educating tenants about rights & responsibilities refer to www.tenantsinfo.com
• Respecting tenant(s) privacy and quiet/peaceful enjoyment of the rental
• Never becoming involved in a heated argument or physical confrontation with a tenant
• Never swearing or yelling at a tenant
• Putting in writing requests, warnings, notices of change etc.
• Maintaining clean premises so that the tenant can take pride in his/her surroundings (no clutter)
• Effectively communicating with tenant(s) on a constant basis to determine if any problems
• Knowing tenant(s) habits to prevent crime i.e. when at work, when at home, when on holidays
• Making all accessible areas safe and well lit that includes parking
• Developing a sense of community, get input from the tenant as to how you can make things better
• Providing the tenant with an incentive or a reward for paying on time and letting tenant know how much you appreciate him/her being a good tenant
• Offering good tenants a Certificate of Satisfactory Tenancy upon termination of satisfactory lease period from www.tenantverification.com
• Showing common sense in all dealings and problem solving with tenant
• Treat tenants as you would like them to treat you

Landlord Advice

A tenant with a bad tenant history with other landlords and a poor credit history that includes bad pay habits, can cause nightmarish issues, where there is property damage or worse, where an Individual has a propensity for violence or other dangerous criminal activity. It is extremely important with the liability issues we all face today that a suitable tenant screening process is implemented in each and every application for rent. www.Tenantverification.com offers tenant screening resources to help landlords find the right tenant. this includes a criminal and eviction search and consumer credit report. It’s much easier to deny an applicant tenancy than it is to go through the tenant eviction process. Reporting tenant pay habits to the TVS database minimizes the risk of late rentpayment, non rent payment and other activity that is associated with not paying rent. The two go hand in hand, not paying rent and not being responsible tenants.

Failure to fulfill tenant responsibilities can result in a tenant eviction. In the case of unpaid rent or money owed as a result of damaged rental property, a landlord can have the debt reported to the major credit bureaus through a collection agency. It is important that a tenant does not breach the rental agreement/lease.. A tenant eviction and unpaid rent can have a negative impact on one's ability to rent in the future. Tenants often do not consider the consequences when breaching a rental agreement/lease.

Information from www.tenantsinfo.com and www.atenantscreen.com