- These laws spell out the rights, responsibilities and remedies that landlords and tenants have. The rental lease covers some of these rights and responsibilities. Tenants are responsible for basic apartment cleaning and care. They should avoid committing structural damage to the apartment. They should bring maintenance-related problems to the rental office. Landlords are responsible for general maintenance and structural upkeep and assume homeowner responsibilities in terms of maintenance and periphery lawn care.
- Tenants do a walk-through with the landlord prior to moving in. This provides a base that both could use to decide what damages the tenant will pay when he moves out. Normal wear and tear includes faded paint, carpet beyond its life expectancy, worn hinges and wall seams coming undone due to normal aging. Examples of damage includes holes in walls, backed up drains resulting from improper use and damaged air conditioning resulting from failure to regularly replace filters. Normally, residents aren't charged for normal aging, but they're charged for damages. This varies by state and landlord.
- This is the deposit that the tenants pay prior to moving in. This deposit collects interest every year the tenant resides in the rental unit. The landlord has a deadline to return this deposit to the renter after they move out. If there were damages, the landlord has to list what those damages are and what was taken out of the deposit to pay for those damages. If damages exceeded the deposit, the landlord sends a bill. If the landlord misses the deadline to refund the deposit, the tenant can sue for damages.
- A landlord can't just kick someone out of their apartment. They have to notify the renter in writing that he'll terminate the lease and why that action is being considered. Causes include failure to pay rent, tenant premises abuse and expired lease without renewal. If a tenant suspects an unjust eviction attempt, they could fight back. They should retain a lawyer and call their city or county government's consumer affairs department.
- There are cases when tenants have to break a lease. For example, someone in the military receives orders to another state before their lease ends. Or, someone accepts relocation in lieu of being terminated. Depending on the state, the tenant could pay the landlord the balance of the total lease. For example, if they break the lease two months early, the tenant has to pay two months of rent to cover their lease obligations. Some landlords would stop charging the original tenants if they find new tenants to live in the original tenant's rental unit.
- Landlords have a right to check the credit record of people applying for a lease. This credit report will tell them if potential renters pay their bills and rent on time. Landlords could also check previous landlords to see how the applicant treated their previous rental units.
