Tenant Responsibilities In California
The most important consumer decision made by many of us is to decide on where to live. This decision is mostly influenced by the comfort level to which one wishes to adopt to. This can be influenced by, costing, travel distance from office, place of shopping, school locality etc. Our housing cost occupies the top most rank in our budget allocation. We move into our dream home wanting to spend the rest of our life there . If we give some needful attention to our responsibilities as a tenant in the occupied premise, we can surely build a long lasting relationship with the landlord.
The tenant must take good care of the unit and the common areas. In addition to this, the California tenant law also lists the following responsibilities to be carried out by the tenant.
Timely rent payment. Not paying the rent would invite a bad entry on the tenant’s credit report. It can also lead to late fees or even eviction.
Clean and hygienic maintenance of the unit. For e.g. if the carpeting, wall painting etc is peeled off due to negligence of the tenant; then the tenant needs to pay for getting it fixed.
Proper usage of the gas, electrical, and plumbing fixtures. Tenant should avoid overloading the electrical appliances which can cause voltage fluctuations.
Repair or compensate for repairs of things damaged by the tenants or their guests.
Keeping the structures or building intact by not removing anything which is/are not owned by them and not letting anyone else to do so
Appropriate usage of rooms according to their set purpose for example, the kitchen is not a bedroom
Dispose garbage bin in a sanitary manner. This should be done properly by doing segregation of dry and wet garbage.
Writ to the landlord or give a call if any repair needs to be carried out. Also give some time in advance for the landlord to fix the problem.
A major responsibility is the payment of utility bills on time especially the water bill to avoid disconnection as it is the most important part of our life. This depends on the terms and conditions as agreed to in the lease agreement.
If the above responsibilities are violated by the tenant, causing major dilapidation, the landlord cannot be held accountable for the unit’s inhabitability. Moreover, the landlord is not duty bound to fix any items damaged due to the tenant’s laxity. Nevertheless, a tenant cannot deny rent or charge the landlord for violating the implied warranty of habitability if the tenant falls short of meeting these requirements.
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