Tenant Repair and Maintenance Responsibilities

Landlords in all states have a duty to maintain habitable rentals, and tenants have a right to a livable place. Your landlord isn't the only one with responsibilities to keep the rental unit reasonably maintained, though. State and local laws require you, the tenant, to ensure that you don't cause the rental to fall into a state of disrepair. Many laws also require you to promptly notify your landlord of any issues that arise in the rental.

When a Repair Issue Is the Tenant's Responsibility

You might be wondering what your housekeeping responsibilities have to do with major repairs that are on the shoulders of the landlord. The answer is that if a major habitability problem is the result of your not keeping up your end of the maintenance bargain, you cannot expect the landlord to pay for the repair, and you cannot use any of the tenant remedies, such as rent withholding, to accomplish the job. The same is true for any issue caused by your pet, child, or guest.

For example, if your only toilet is clogged because your babysitter tried to flush a diaper, it's a habitability problem, true, but the cost of repairing it will fall squarely on you.

Check Your Lease or Rental Agreement

Your lease or rental agreement might lay out specific tasks that are considered the tenant's duty. For example, many leases for single-family homes specify that the tenant is responsible for maintaining the yard or hiring an HVAC professional to annually clean and maintain the furnace.

When a lease or rental agreement is silent about your duties as a tenant, you can look to state law for guidance.

Common Tenant Responsibilities

Many states' laws list specific tenant responsibilities. Some of the common obligations include:

• Keeping your rental unit as clean and safe as the condition of the premises permits.
• Disposing of garbage, rubbish, and other waste in a clean and safe manner.
• Keeping plumbing fixtures as clean as their condition permits.
• Using electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, and other facilities and other systems (such as elevators) properly.
• Fixing things you break or damage.
• Notifying the landlord promptly of defective or dangerous conditions on the property.

Your landlord can't, however, charge you for problems caused by normal wear and tear—for example, a carpet that has worn out from years of use.

What Can a Landlord Do When a Tenant Doesn't Fulfill Their Responsibilities?

If you or a guest break something—for example, you drop a refrigerator shelf and it shatters—you have a duty to either repair or replace the item or notify the landlord so the landlord can have it repaired or replaced. Either way, the financial responsibility for the fix will be yours.

With the refrigerator shelf example, you might see if you can find a replacement shelf online for a reasonable price, and simply replace it at your own expense. As long as you find the exact replacement part, your landlord will never be the wiser.

However, your lease or rental agreement might require you to not make any repairs on your own. Instead, it might require you to notify the landlord so that the landlord can take care of the issue—at your expense. This is a reasonable requirement—landlords who have been burned by DIY tenants might want to ensure that any repairs are done properly. For example, if you drop a pan on your kitchen floor and break a tile, it's likely that the landlord would prefer to take care of the replacement themselves so the new tile matches and is properly installed.

Landlords Can Use the Security Deposit to Cover the Expense of Repairs Caused by Tenants

When your landlord fixes something at your expense, your landlord is entitled to deduct the money from your security deposit, even if you are mid-lease. Once the landlord makes a deduction from your security deposit, you are responsible for replenishing the security deposit to its full amount required under the lease.

If a repair costs more than your security deposit, your landlord can require you to pay the excess. If you don't, your landlord can sue you for the remainder.

In extreme cases—for example, if you allow a lot of garbage to pile up and it causes a rodent infestation—your landlord might be able to terminate your tenancy. Major failures to maintain the premises can be considered a breach of your lease or rental agreement and can be grounds for an eviction.

Why Should Tenants Maintain Their Rental?

Knowing about—and fulfilling—your own responsibilities as a tenant makes you more than just a virtuous renter. The dividends of living up to your duties include the confidence that:

• You can expect a positive reference from this landlord when you move on to the next rental.
• You are well positioned should you need to ask an occasional favor, such as paying the rent late or letting your sister stay with you for a month while she looks for her own place.
• You can withhold rent or use a repair and deduct statute (if your state allows these remedies). Tenants typically can't use these remedies if they are in violation of a lease clause or other important tenant responsibility.

For the most part, landlords appreciate conscientious tenants who alert them to a problem, regardless of how the problem arose. At the very least, maintaining your rental and alerting the landlord to a potential problem will prevent the issue from snowballing and creating a disaster that might result in you losing your security deposit or—even worse—being evicted.