Why a Competitive Rental Market is no Reason to Skip the Basics

Many renters will bring their questions to the showing. They’ll ask if the unit comes with parking, what utilities are included, or whether the building is pet-friendly. These are all crucial details to be sure on, but you’re bound to get biased answers when you ask the landlord or leasing agent.

The Document Everything Starts With

Before delving into any specific rights, it’s essential to ensure this entire discussion is taking place in the right context. All tenancies are underpinned by their paperwork. The rental agreement is the foundational contract that outlines what both landlord and tenant are legally required to do, it trumps any verbal agreement, any email correspondence, and any informal arrangement between the two parties.

In a high-pressure market, it can feel like signing the lease is the goal. Just get the property, worry about the fine print after. That’s the wrong way around. The lease doesn’t conclude the application. It initiates a legal agreement, and the details contained within it will cover pretty much all the ground on which any disagreement could occur.

Read it before committing your signature. If anything is ambiguous, request clarification in writing. If a term seems unreasonable, use that opportunity to contest it, not a week into your residency.

What You Can Actually Negotiate

Many people assume that lease terms are non-negotiable contracts that renters must accept as they are. While this may be true for certain leases, you may be surprised at the number of terms that tenants can negotiate with landlords. Issues surrounding pets, minor changes to the rental property, or the length of the lease are often more flexible than you may think.

The important thing to remember is to ask before you sign. A clause in your lease allowing your dog or that allows you to make a specific change is invaluable. It is far more valuable than a rental agent telling you “that should be okay”. If it’s not in the agreement, it isn’t an agreement.

Between 20% and 50% of renters in most global cities spend more than 30% of their income on rental costs (Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies). When you’re already rent-burdened, every surprise cost, a disputed deposit, an unapproved sublet fine, a repair bill for something the landlord should cover, hurts far worse than it would otherwise.

Inspect and Document Everything on Day One

One of the most ignored aspects of renting a place, the condition report records what the place was like when you moved in, and is the first document used when your bond is assessed at the end of a lease. In theory, low bond lodgment rates are because it’s in landlords’ and tenants’ best interests to come to an agreement without involving a state body. In practice, bond disputes are more common in high-turnover rental markets, not less. Landlords/property managers who have to contend with a steady stream of new tenants are also more likely to make excessive wear-and-tear claims as they’re simply seeing the place more often.

If your condition report notes carpets that are already thrashed, windows stuck open or closed, garden beds fried to a crisp, or a generally “lived in” look because the last occupants had eight cats and a deep-fryer, document that yourself. Actually, no matter how pristine your place and fastidious your landlord, do this: walk through the property with your condition report and note every scratch, stain, and scuff. Then photograph everything you noted on that condition report as you moved in, timestamping the photos, not because you’re expecting a fight but because documented evidence makes it vanish quickly.

While you’re at it, check the sort of things that can really make your life hell if they break and aren’t repaired. Like smoke alarms, and locks. Plumbing or heating. The sort of things you’d currently rather not dwell on while you lie in bed listening to a tap slowly dripping, thinking you’ll get it fixed later because you just really need a house right now.

Your Rights Once You’re Living There

Once you’re a tenant, there’s a couple of rights you have to retain. For starters, the concept of quiet enjoyment. This doesn’t mean you should expect pure silence. What it means is that your landlord should not be at your door without the proper amount of notice, and should not be at your door without a valid reason as outlined in the tenancy agreement. The right to quiet enjoyment doesn’t mean unfettered freedom for your landlord to enter. If you have a property manager who thinks that’s what it means, you have a property manager that’s incorrect.

When it comes to maintenance, make a written record of all requests. Don’t assume that just because you called your property manager about a leaking roof three months ago that that information will come through if your landlord decides to refuse to repair the roof and you end up in front of a tenancy tribunal. Get it in writing too, every time. An email, a message through your management platform, whatever, as long as it’s got a timestamp on it.

The Non-Negotiables Aren’t Optional

Being desperate for a place doesn’t take away your right to a basic standard of living. Running out of options doesn’t strip away your right to your deposit. And signing a lease because you have no other choice certainly doesn’t mean you’re giving up your rights.

Veeramachineni Lalitha

I am Finance Content Writer. I write Personal Finance, banking, investment, and insurance related content for top clients including Kotak Mahindra Bank, Edelweiss, ICICI BANK and IDFC FIRST Bank. My experience details : Linkedin