As a landlord in Manchester, understanding your rights and responsibilities is key. That way, you’ll not only develop a great relationship with your tenant, but you’ll also have a higher chance of profiting from your rental property.
If you’re not already familiar with your rights and responsibilities as a landlord, you’re in the right place. Over the next 5-10 minutes, we’ll walk you through:
- Your responsibilities as a landlord
- Your rights as a landlord
- Common areas of dispute between landlords and tenants
And by the end of this article, you’ll have all the knowledge you need to ensure that your endeavour in rental properties is not only profitable but an enjoyable one.
Your Responsibilities as a Landlord
Though landlords have dozens of different responsibilities, there are four key areas that are of the highest importance, and below, we’ll go over each one in more detail.
Maintenance and Repairs
As a landlord, it is your responsibility to ensure that the property is well-maintained and that any repairs are addressed promptly. In other words, it’s up to you to ensure that the property is in a habitable condition for as long as your tenant resides within it.
Health and Safety Compliance
You are also responsible for ensuring that your rental property meets all health and safety regulations at all times. Whether it’s to do with the roof or the build-up of mould in the property, as the owner of the property, ensuring health and safety compliance is another one of your responsibilities that you can’t neglect.
Respecting Tenants’ Privacy
Despite the fact that you own the property, when it is rented out, you must respect the privacy rights of your tenants. This means that you can’t go inside your property unannounced. You must always give proper notice, which in most cases is 24 hours, before visiting the property. Please note that the above may not apply in case of an emergency.
Security Deposit Handling
As a landlord, it is your responsibility to ensure that you are being fair with the handling of the security deposit that has been paid out to you by your tenants. This means not overcharging for repairs or delaying the return of the deposit following the termination of the rental agreement.
Your Rights as a Landlord
As a landlord, you have your rights too, and below, we’ll go over the main ones in more detail.
Rent Collection
One of your major rights as a landlord is to collect rent on time each month. And in case there are delays, you can enforce late payment fees as per the terms outlined in the rental contract.
Property Inspections
As it’s your responsibility to ensure that your property is habitable during the lease, it is your right to carry out regular inspections of your property. That way, you can not only see how your tenants treat your property, but you can also use this time to identify any repairs that may be required. Please note that despite the fact that you can carry out inspections of your property, you must give your tenants at least a 24-hour notice period.
Eviction Rights
If your tenant breaches any of the lease agreements, violates any of the rental terms, or fails to pay rent, you are within your right to begin the eviction process. It is up to you to decide how strict or lenient you want to be with the terms and conditions within the lease agreement.
Common Areas of Dispute Between Landlords and Tenants
According to recent data, it is reported that nearly 35% of all landlords experience some sort of disagreement with their tenants. Below, we’ll go over the most common areas of dispute so you can develop a strategy on how to combat them should they arise in the future.
Maintenance Responsibilities
Though the landlord is responsible for the overall maintenance and repairs of the property, there are grey areas, which can often become the reason for a dispute. Some examples include loose door handles and lightbulbs that need to be changed.
Rent Increases
One of the most common disputes between landlords and tenants is around the topic of rent increases. Though they are perfectly legal, and as a landlord, you are within your right to charge whatever price you want for your property, it’s normal for your tenants to raise their concerns around your decision.
Issues Around the Security Deposit
Ideally, you want to refund your tenant the full amount of their security deposit. However, in some cases, major work may need to be carried out following the termination of the rental agreement, which will cost the tenant some or all of their security deposit. Such a situation can raise major disagreements between the two parties.
The difficulty of being a landlord is often overlooked, which is one of the reasons why many landlords end up selling their tenanted property in Manchester. However, when you are equipped with the right knowledge as far as your rights and responsibilities go, being a landlord will not only be much easier, but you will also increase your chances of profiting from your rental property.
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