What are a landlord’s maintenance responsibilities?

By Tenant

Based on rental laws, landlords must maintain his rental unit, meaning that he should do everything possible to make the unit habitable. And the tenant has the right to timely repairs to damages on the structure and the furniture alike that may cause safety and/or sanitary issues. Here’s a list of your landlords maintenance responsibilities for future reference:

• Major Repairs. Most major problems that occur around the apartment or property are heat and plumbing.  When the tenant above you overflows the bathtub and leaks through the ceiling and soaks your things, the landlord is required by law to fix it within 24 hours. In some cases, landlord ignores this duty even with knowledge of the law. The next step is to take legal action. If it does come to you taking things to court, you should know that by law, the LL has a duty to maintain the unit while you are still there. He should make sure the place is liveable.
• Minor Repairs. Not like Major Repairs that needs to be fixed immediately, the landlord may choose not to do minor repairs at all, unless stated in your lease agreement. Minor repairs include small holes in the wall or stains in the ceiling. Anything that has nothing to do with the liveability of the apartment is considered minor repairs.

Tenant caused damages. Landlord is still responsible in keeping his rental unit a liveable place. Rental laws protect the landlord in cases wherein the tenant is the one responsible for the damages of the rental unit. However, the landlord can bill the tenant directly for any costs of repairs and if the tenant cannot pay then the landlord can directly deduct the cost to the security deposit. The tenant will then have to replace the security deposit and the landlord can increase it since he can view the tenant as a risky one.

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