GUIDE TO RENTING AN APARTMENT

Happy Democracy Day

Trust you are enjoying the holiday. Today we will briefly look at the necessary things to know when renting an apartment both for the house owner and applying tenant.

DOs and DON’Ts of Renting An Apartment.

Today we will be talking about the DOs and DON'Ts of renting an apartment. When looking for an apartment to rent as a tenant or letting out an apartment as a Landlord / House Owner, often times we forget that it is a business transaction and money is going to exchange hands.

So here are few things to have in place and bear in mind when letting out or renting an apartment.

TENANCY AGREEMENT: This is a very important document in the entire process of letting or renting out an apartment, it mostly simply referred to as AGREEMENT. Without it, it is difficult to establish and have a clear understanding of what is expected of both the tenant and the landlord, it helps guide both parties and make clear their roles and responsibilities in the course of the tenancy duration.

RENT PAYMENT: This is also another aspect which is usually stated in the Tenancy Agreement, it states how much is required of the tenant to pay, mode of payment which could be either annually / quarterly / monthly / weekly as the case maybe; monthly and weekly are usually applicable in short lease apartments. But it is very important you establish what the mode of payment is before you make any payment or sign any agreement.

IT’S A BUSINESS NOT SENTIMENT: When people go out looking for an apartment, they tend to believe that the house owner or landlord ought to understand what they need and as such should do everything to please them or in the case of a Landlord thinking the applying tenant should understand what the situation of things is, “the economy”. Rather what both parties should bear in mind is that this is purely a business transaction and both parties have to get value for money.

AGREEMENT ON REPAIRS / DAMAGES: Part of the statutory fees to be paid when renting an apartment newly is a fee termed as Caution Fee, this is usually paid in respect of future damages that may be incurred in the apartment by the applying tenant which would have to be repaired by the house owner / Landlord at the time the tenant vacates the apartment. But what most applying tenant fail to understand is that when you are required to pay this fee, you are entitled to ask for what repairs will be done in the apartment that will make it habitable and satisfactory for you to move in, it is part of your rights as a new or applying tenant, so it is very important that you reach a concrete agreement on repairs before payment is made. And as a house owner, you are best to lay it bear what and what you will be repairing in the apartment, you don’t want to give a false information to an applying tenant as this may cause issues between both tenant and landlord.

ASK QUESTIONS: Often times both tenants and house owners assume a lot in the process of acquiring or letting an apartment as the case maybe respectively. Please don’t make this mistake, ensure you ask all the necessary questions, as a house owner you will want to validate the information provided by the applying tenant as much as possible. And as an applying tenant you will need to ask and confirm some vital information especially as regards your lifestyle and things required of you as a tenant in the apartment.

DEFAULTERS / BREACH OF CONTRACT: When an apartment is being let out by a house owner / landlord, the applying tenant need bear in mind that anything that might result in him / her defaulting in the stipulated agreement will attract a certain percentage of the total sum of money paid for the said apartment, this can range between

10 – 20% depending on what the other part decides to take as a penalty for defaulting; this usually occurs when the tenant decides to terminate the contract before moving in due to reasons best known to him/her.

Upon dotting all the İs and crossing all the Ts, remember we are still human and need to cohabit. I hope this has been useful information to you, do have a lovely holiday.

Leamich Nigeria Consult
Professionally Dependable