What are Tenants’ Responsibilities for Repairs in a Rental Property?

In the private rented sector, landlords are required to keep their buy to let property well-maintained and in a good state of home repair. On the other side of the coin, tenants must ensure they act in a ‘tenant-like manner’, avoiding causing any damage to the property other than that which can be considered ‘fair wear and tear’. Wondering what tenants’ responsibilities for repairs are? Read on to find out.

Landlords must keep rental property well-maintained and in good repair, and there are various landlord repairs responsibilities. But tenants have responsibilities regarding repairs too, plus there are tenant cleaning responsibilities to adhere to.

Tenants must keep the property in a ‘tenant like manner’

Tenants are required to keep the property they rent in a ‘tenant like manner’. This means:

• Keeping the property reasonably clean
• Arranging safety checks for any electrical appliances they own themselves
• Maintaining gardens or outside spaces in a reasonable state
• Carrying out minor maintenance tasks, such as changing light bulbs or replacing some alarm batteries

Tenants are only expected to maintain the property to a reasonable standard and are not required to leave it in a better condition than when they moved in.

If the property was professionally cleaned on check-in, then it is reasonable to expect for it to be professionally cleaned at check-out, at the tenant’s expense.

Tenants responsibilities for repairs

Tenants are responsible for:

• Repairing any appliances or furniture they themselves own
• Fixing any damage that they themselves or their guests cause
• Any minor repairs set out in your tenancy agreement

If a tenant is deemed negligent in terms of taking care of the property, then it will usually be reasonable to expect them to cover the costs of repairs for things such as blocked drains if they didn’t take reasonable steps to prevent the issue.

Tenants are not responsible for wear and tear over the course of the tenancy.

Reporting issues and allowing access

Tenants should be instructed to report any maintenance issues as soon as possible so that they do not turn into major problems. This reporting requirement will usually form part of the tenancy agreement.

Tenants must allow landlords access to the property at reasonable times for the purpose of inspections, maintenance, repairs and safety checks.

You must provide 24 hours’ written notice, and permission must be given. In other words, unauthorised access is not permitted, only in certain circumstances. Read more on landlords’ right of entry here.

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Interested to learn more? You are welcome to get in touch with our expert team to discover how we can make your life as a landlord more of a breeze.