House rental lease terms

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by manderly6

I agree with most others. The only thing that seems excessive is the winterizing. Seems like the LL would have to have this done if there were renters or not, so I think that is a bit much to expect.

It probably ties in with the lawn mowing responsibility aspect which is affected by the amount of watering the tenant wants to do and pay for.

But I also agree... that it's a bit odd that even if the LL don't care about the health and appearance of the lawn (maybe he inherited the system?) that he doesn't either just keep the sprinkler system off altogether (it's not just the back flow devices) or have the winterizing done.

oh well.

[davecj]

Are these terms too restrictive, not typical or too stringent in any way?

1-Landlord does not have a contract with an exterminator and will provide a one time extermination service if pests are found at move-in walkthrough

Seems pretty irresponsible on the LLs part. If there's an infestation in the property it is an inconvenience for you but a potential major expense for them. Especially if there is termite damage hidden in the walls. May be worth your while to have an inspection if there's any concern.

2-Landlord requires that we use a professional carpet cleaning service on move out and provide him with the receipt as proof.

Standard

3-Washer and dryer are provided as-is, landlord is not responsible for repairs.

Again seems irresponsible on the LLs behalf as the appliances belong to them.

4-We are not allowed to drive any nails or screws in the wall before getting written permission from landlord.

I'll agree with it just for the sake of not having to patch holes.

5-No time window is specified between us calling in a maintenance request and the landlord responding or sending someone to handle the issue.

Very irresponsible. At the least, I'd write in "Within a reasonable time frame the LL will respond to maintenance requests." Could also be opening up the LL to a host of liability problems.

6-We are required to winterize the backflow assembly for sprinklers at our expense.

Never heard of this or why you would pay for it. Pipe damage comes out of the LLs pocket, not yours. Either way I don't imagine it would be that expensive.

7-We are required to change all filters (AC, etc) at our expense at least every three months.

Please do this. The AC system can really start to under perform if not. Filters are a couple dollars and takes 5 seconds to replace.

What do you guys think? I appreciate all your thoughts.

My thinking is this LL is either very cheap and hands off or has a lot of experience and has had some pretty terrible tenants in the past.