When it comes to rental property ownership, most legislation, unfortunately, holds the property owner responsible, not the tenant. The property owner is always the bottom line regarding problems that arise at the property.

Some cities and states, however, do attempt to hold tenants responsible for maintenance to the units they occupy, and generally tend to make it the tenant’s responsibility to keep the unit in a habitable condition. Here’s a list of unit conditions that may be considered the tenant’s responsibility in your state:

• Tenants should keep the unit clean and safe. A tenant should be expected to have some cleaning capabilities such as keeping kitchens and bathrooms cleaned, and removing all garbage they generate to the appropriate receptacles or designated location for city pickup. The idea is to make the tenant responsible to maintain clean living conditions in and around his or her rental property unit both, for cleanliness sake and to prevent infestations.
• Tenants must use fixtures and appliances in the unit properly. Tenants are not permitted to abuse fixtures and appliances in the rental unit, must exercise reasonable care not to overload electrical outlets, and should not flush large objects down a toilet in the unit.
• Tenants are responsible to fix or pay for damage they cause. As the controlling factor living in the rental unit, if the tenant creates a situation that affects the habitability of the rental unit, he or she can be held responsible. If a tenant puts a hole in a wall, severely stains the carpets, or breaks fixtures and appliances, for instance, he or she must arrange to either fix or pay to repair the damages.

This is not a long list, to be sure, but that’s about the extent of the tenant’s legal responsibilities. You can, of course, list more detailed tenant responsibilities in your lease or rental agreement, understand, however, that efforts to hold a tenant responsible for certain things doesn’t mean that it will hold up in court. As a rental property owner it’s always best to familiarize yourself with legislation in your area, and understand what responsibilities you can, and cannot shift to tenants.

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