Undertaking repairs in a home can be pretty expensive. Resultantly, as a renter, you may find yourself in disputes with your landlord about damages, repairs, and maintenance charges. But in a rental property with pre-installed appliances, who pays for repairs?
As a legal homeowner, the expense of any damage to your house is your responsibility, no matter how big or small. However, it’s a different ball game speaking of a rental property. Repairs are sometimes the landlord’s obligation, while other times, it’s the tenant’s duty.
The best approach to avoid costly surprises is to know your rights as a landlord or a tenant. And this position is especially valid regarding frequently asked questions about rental property repairs and damages.
Knowing who pays for appliance repairs at specific points won’t only save you from unnecessary expenses. But it’ll also ensure an understanding between you as a renter and your landlord. So here, we’ll answer the crucial questions that usually pop into the rental property repairs conversation.
Should my Landlord Make me Pay for my Rental Property Repairs?
If you rent a property, the landlord is usually responsible for making it habitable. In other words, your landlord must meet municipal housing rules’ health and safety requirements.
Housing rules require landlords to satisfy specific requirements. Typical examples of these criteria are:
- Heating system: An unreliable heater may make your house unlivable and unsafe, depending on where you live.
- Plumbing: Broken sinks, leaking pipes, and other plumbing problems can pose a health hazard and cause water damage.
- Electric system: Bad, naked, and tangled wires are lethal to inhabitants of a house.
- Pest management: Having pests, such as cockroaches, bed bugs, and mice in your home may be both annoying and dangerous.
Landlords are responsible for repairing any damage or concerns that compromises a rental unit’s liveability. And these repairs are at no expense to the renter.
The landlord is the one who pays for appliance repair as long as the damaged item is part of the lease agreement. Stoves, dishwashers, and washing machines all fall within the category of such appliances.
When you pay to reside in a rental property, everything in the house has to be described in the Lease Agreement. Therefore, your landlord must rectify the situation if the apartment doesn’t meet the description in the L.A.
On the other hand, when it comes to aesthetic defects, landlords aren’t necessarily compelled to remedy them. This position is as long as the cosmetic issues don’t pose a safety risk to you as a tenant.
For instance, the landlord may not be responsible for small things like soiled rugs, tiny holes in the wall, and drippy faucets. Additionally, tenants who cause damage are likely to face repair costs.
Related Article: Sears Appliance Repair Cost
Should my Security Deposit be used to Pay for Repairs?
Tenants must pay a security deposit, sometimes known as a damage deposit, to cover any dent they make to the property during their stay. Additionally, landlords can deduct rent arrears from the security deposit too. But you get your security deposit back at the end of your lease time if everything in the house is in perfect shape and you don’t owe rent.
Landlords often complete Rental Inspection Reports when a new renter comes into their property. Then, when the renter vacates, the landlord will undertake another inspection. This post-exit inspection determines whether or not they did any damage while the renter was a tenant.
Damages unrelated to normal wear and tear may be fixed from a tenant’s security deposit if discovered during a post-exit inspection. Therefore, in this case, you’re the one who pays for appliance repair in a rented apartment.
There’ll inevitably be normal wear and tear, no matter how well-cared for the property is by the renter. It’s the landlord’s job to remedy these types of issues. Typical wear and tear includes cracky linoleum, deposits on sinks, and faded carpet.
Also, if you fail to clean up significant trash after packing, your landlord may remove cleaning fees from your security deposit. However, your landlord can’t utilize your security deposit to pay for basic cleaning on common standards.
How Can I Ask My Landlord to Facilitate a Repair in my Rental Property?
You, as a tenant, need to notify your landlord or property management if you need a repair done on your rental property. This notification is best accomplished through the use of a Repair Notice. A Repair Notice is a document informing your landlord that repairs are necessary for your rental property.
You must contact your landlord as soon as possible if you observe damage to your rental property. This act will prevent you from being held responsible for damages that aren’t your fault.
Landlords must address repair notices within a reasonable amount of time. All things equal, the timeframe for response is typically 14–30 days following complaint receipt.
Contacting your local housing agency or filing a breach of contract suit may be necessary if your landlord fails to fix issues or send professional appliance repair services to you promptly.
But in the event of an emergency, such as significant flooding, landlords must restore the damage immediately. Further harm may occur if a landlord doesn’t respond quickly to flooding.
Meanwhile, your landlord may be responsible for appliance repair. Still, you can’t cease paying rent or deduct repair costs from your rent payment if damage to your rental property has been unattended. Doing so violates the lease agreement and is a good basis to evict you.
Related Article: How Much Is An Appliance Repair Service Call?
Summary
As a renter in Canada, you must understand your rights, so you know who pays for appliance repairs or other property fixes in a rental. You’ll be saving yourself needless stress and unnecessary expenses.
Although there are times when your landlord has to pay for appliance repair, you can also be in those shoes. However, DIY repairs for rental property appliances aren’t advisable because you may cause more damage. Therefore, you may need expert repair services. And you don’t have to look too far because we at Prime Appliance Repair offer the best repair services in Ontario.
Check out and use our all-appliance repair services for any household repair that concerns you.
Contact 647-905-9176 to have one of our technicians at your place today.
