How Tenants Can Help With Property Maintenance?

1. How Tenants Can Help With Property How Tenants Can Help With Property Maintenance? Maintenance? When you buy a new property then, you probably know that it is a never ending process of property maintenance especially when it is a rental property. Rental properties are generally large in size and due to numerous occupants it is more difficult to maintain a property regu- larly as compare to a single family home. They require more care and due to this many land- lord hire professional property management company in Baltimore to keep their rental home maintained. Professional property management companies have trained and skilled employees who man- age your house and keep it well maintained. Not only this, they also assist you in hiring the right tenants in your property so that your property will remain maintained and you will earn good returns on investment. But, hiring professional for rental property management in Baltimore can be quite expensive affair for you. Not every landlord can afford them to hire. In such case you will have to keep your property maintained. In fact, it is the obligation or duty of a landlord to keep his rental property well maintained and does all the repairs. But, the ten- ants have their obligations too with property maintenance about which many of them don't know or don't want to follow. But they can actually help the landlord with property with property maintenance. Here are the legal ways tenants are required to help with property maintenance Tenants know that their landlords are responsible for the property maintenance or repairs. However, many tenants do not know that they have legal responsibilities for property mainte- nance under landlord tenants' law. Though, the law can differ from state to state but the gen- eral requirements can include this: Keep the property free from sanitary hazards Tenants are responsible to dispose of the trash regularly and should not let it pile up as exces- sive amount of garbage can create health issues. They must clean the bins regularly otherwise this can increase pest infestation. So, the tenants are responsible to clean and keep the prop- erty in reasonably sanitary condition to prevent pest infestation and other health issues. Keep the property free from safety hazards Make sure you haven't placed any goods in front of the fire exit. The tenants must not remove the batteries from the smoke or carbon monoxide detector. A tenant should always take of such safety rules in the property to keep the unit free from safety hazards. Follow building or housing codes Following building or housing codes is also a part of property maintenance. If the landlord has asked you to stay two people in one room that you should not break the rule and extend the number of occupants. This not only creates fire risk but also increase wear and tear in the property. If you will live more than the number of occupants allowed in a unit then, it will also increase the utility bills which can be an additional problem for the landlord if he is responsi- ble to pay the utility bills. Being respectful of the property The tenants have many responsibilities to keep the property maintained. These responsibili- ties include the following:

2. •Plumbing fixture: The tenants must keep the plumbing fixtures neat and clean condition to prevent rush and excessive dirt. Also these fixtures should be used for the intended purpose;

3. you cannot flush down garbage or put down cooking grease in shower drain as this can affect the plumbing fixtures which will later require repair. •Appliances supplied by landlord: You should also take care of the appliances supplied by the landlord for your help. The landlord provides you some appliances like stoves, refrigera- tor, microwave, dishwasher, washing machine, etc. which you need to keep in working condi- tion. These appliances should be only used when needed and for intended purpose only. For ex- you cannot wash anything else rather than dishes in the dishwasher. •Do not damage the property: The inside area of a tenant's unit is definitely the part of their responsibility to keep it damage free and maintain it in the same way as it was while moving in. A normal wear and tear is expected but a severe damage in the property would never be tolerated by the property owner then, the tenant will have to bear all the expenses of repair. •Report damage immediately: It is the responsibility of the tenants to report the landlord about the damages. This is one of the best ways the tenants can help with property mainte- nance. Since the tenants are the one who are living in the property on a day to day basis, then they will know more about the property. The landlord cannot visit all the time to check the damages so it’s the responsibility of the tenants to report about damages. There are some additional ways your tenants can help you with maintenance of your rental property. These additional ways can be agreed separately by you and your tenant. In ex- change for the additional maintenance responsibilities, the landlords often offer a reduction in rent. If you are a landlord and looking for a way that your tenants can help you with maintenance of your rental property in Baltimore then, you can also offer some reduction in rent. You can ask them to do the repairs by themselves or by hiring a professional for repair. But, this can be risky for your property so, you should only allow the tenants for repairing by the tenants themselves if he is a professional. The tenant should be a professional plumber to fix a faulty sink or should be an electrician for fixing faulty light. These are the ways through which the tenants can help with property maintenance.