Tips to Follow Before Renting a House

There could be many situations where you are required to shift to a renting apartment or house. It is always good to have your own house, but renting a house also has multiple benefits. Many people prefer living in rented houses because of economic reasons.

If you are moving to a new city or into a new country, then renting a house is the best idea for you. But there could be some mistakes or misunderstanding that can take place while renting a house by owner.

There are multiple options by which you can rent a house but renting a house by owner can give you lot of benefits. But nothing comes with positives only. So, renting a house by owners can also lead to so many of misunderstandings as well.

Before going for the misunderstandings or issues or problems, let’s talk about the advantages of renting a house by owner.

1. Houses for rent by owners that includes water. Thus, you end up saving some money.
2. Any kind of maintenance like – paint, plumbing, etc. is not your responsibility and again thus saves money.
3. There are so many of unforeseen things that do happen normally in houses and if you are living on rent by owner, then you are free from all this stuff.
4. If you have rented a house in some township, then, you can also get the facilities like – gym, pool, etc. without actually paying much for them.
5. And the best one is the option to shift to a new place or new house just by giving a notice.

To avoid all the possible misunderstandings and get the most benefit out of your rented house, there are a few tips that we are sharing with you. These tips can help you in finding the right houses for rent Geelong, can also help you with the agreement and lease related work, and almost everything related to renting a house by owner.

So, let’s start with the tips.

1. Check for all the lease clauses carefully.
2. Take some legal advice, so that it will become easy for you to understand the terms and conditions that the agreement states.
3. If the due date of the monthly rent is not stated in the rental agreement, then as per law, you are required to pay the rent on the first day of the month.
4. You can also get a grace of around three to five days for monthly rental payments. But make sure that your contract states the charges for this late payment.
5. Find the answer to the question regarding who would be responsible for the utility stuff and appliances.
6. Also, get the answer to the question about do the owners allow pets or not?

Now, there are some topics that need to discussed first and as these are the clauses that are against the law, but some owners can use these clauses.

1. Landlord changing the locks on the rented property and not allowing the tenant to access the space. If you have this clause in your agreement, then this is against the law and in such case, you can take help from any legal advisor.
2. You could also find a clause that can state that you will not get the refund of your deposited rent, which is again against the law.
3. Also, check for the provision that states that the tenant is not allowed to defend herself or himself in the court for any lawsuit against them by the owner.
4. A provision in the agreement that asks for more than 10% of the monthly rent as the charges for late payment.
5. There is no such law that can allow the landlord to hold up the tenant’s personal property after the eviction.
6. A clause that states the tenant has to give up their right to take their landlord to the court.

There could be more problems that can come your way before you can actually move in to your new rented house. Let us discuss some of them down below –

1. There could be some really serious issues or misunderstandings in case if there is no written agreement for the houses for rent in Geelong by owner. Usually, these agreements are on a month to month basis or on a six-month term. Now, if there is no such agreement written, then it would become nearly impossible for the tenant to prove the agreement time period in the court.
2. The agreement of the rental house should include only the valid clauses and not the invalid or against the law clauses that we have mentioned above. Also, check that the written rental agreement of the house by owner includes the responsibility for any repairs to the property, appliances, etc.
3. There can be some issues that can take place before you move into your new rented house. These issues could be like – house not being ready on the date as mentioned in the agreement. In this case, you have the rights to give a written notice to the landlord and can ask for termination. Also, you are entitled to get all of your deposits for this rental property.
4. If in the case of property not getting ready as per the date mentioned in the agreement and you don’t want to terminate the agreement, and then the option that you can go for is to ask the landlord to get it available as soon as possible. You can take this to a case to the court and also has the rights to ask for some damages or claims from the landlord in the form of alternative housing, a cost for searching a new rental property, etc.
5. In case, if just before moving to the house, you lost your job and now it is hard to you to manage the rent of that particular house, after signing the written agreement, then, the landlords have the right to retain your deposits.

So, these things will surely help you if you want to take houses for rent in Geelong.