Over here, most of the rented dwellings in the city are in a bad condition obviously due to lack of maintenance. Landlords would reason out that tenants were negligent even if that is not stipulated in the lease contract. But there are some tenants who voluntarily repaint the apartment with their own funds. Of course, that is with permission from the landlord who is definitely happy with the offer. In the so called University belt where boarding houses for students abound, there are fire traps and dilapidated buildings that are for condemnation. When an accident occurs, that's the only time the government will come in to investigate and media will blow up the issue of unkempt boarding houses. That's only when an accident occurs.
Good landlords should maintain the rental property. This not only attracts tenants their way but if their rental property is in better condition than those of their competitors they can charges slightly more and still they'd be tenants eager to find a decent place to live in. Should you decide to buy some rental property then just ensure they are properly maintained. The money you would make from that . . .
The are good landlords and bad landlords. Some of them want way too high rent for the conditions that people are living in. They take advantage of their tenents which is a sad situation. The good landlords kept their property maintenance up to date. They care about their properties and their tenants. We have a lot of slum lords in our city and people living in deplorable conditions.
I agree with you about good landlords and bad landlords. I know of a landlord who kept on increasing rent for their 4-door apartment. It came to a point that their 4 tenants left simultaneously. The apartment was up for rent, all 4 doors. Unfortunately, that apartment was hit by bad luck because it is almost a year already that it remains vacant. That means the landlord had lost a one year rent money, such a big amount I'd say. And it's all because of their abusive attitude towards their tenants who remained meek .
While it is up to the landlord to jeep the properties in a liveable condition, I find a lot of the time a landlord will do whatever they can, nor to carry our repairs, unless they have to. It seems a lot of landlords like collecting the rent every month, but when it comes to paying out, they do whatever it takes to get around it.
@pwarbi, most of the landlords who I know are like that you mentioned - they only care for the rent and even reprimands tenants when something goes wrong in the house. One time a tenant complains of a clogged drain and the landlord countered that it is the fault of the tenant. On the contrary, there are landlords who are humane enough to understand the plight of the poor tenants. And they also realize that as a landlord, that means they are richer than the tenants so they are kind enough to provide support in repairs.
My landlord is always right on things. As soon as you call him he is there the same day to look at it and fix it if possible. If it needs a fix that he doesn't have the materials needed on hand, he will pick them up and have it fixed the next day at the latest. He is one of the best landlords that I have ever rented from. He has a number of apartment buildings and there are waiting lists for people waiting to get into them. He has a good reputation in the city. I wish they were all like that. I have had my share of not so good landlords to. That is why we have the "Rentalsman" around here, to protect the rights of then tenants.
