It is very important to have a certain amount of knowledge about the rental agreement before you decide to take a house on rent. A clear and detailed knowledge will save you from the possibilities of any form of scams, frauds or other possibilities of future troubles. The facts mentioned below will give you the necessary knowledge:
[1] You must know what a Tenant’s background check and the tenancy agreement are. It is basically a set of rules laid between the tenant and the landlord. This is a written agreement and has to be followed by both the parties, that is, the tenant and the landlord.
[2] Usually, the duration of this agreement is for 12 months. But many landlords opt for 11 months rental schemes in order to avoid the control laws. The time span of a rental lease can be expanded or reduced by negotiating with the landlord.
[3] Generally, the landlord demands a security deposit of one month from the tenant. This amount is refunded after the agreement expires. But if the landlord finds any sort of damage to his rental property, he can take the cost of the damage by deducting it from the deposit. The tenant should also be very cautious about the payment of the fixed deposit as fraudulence may occur. To avoid any such situations the tenant should take a written receipt, mentioning the terms and conditions of the security deposit, from the landlord.
[4] If the tenant decides to vacate the property before the time mentioned in the agreement, he/she should give a notice to the landlord before three to four months of vacating the house.
[5] Basic facilities like water bills, electricity bills, gas bills and maintenance are usually included in the rent. If not, then the landlord will provide the tenant with electricity card and other cards to take down the metre and other readings, so that the tenant can pay the bills separately on his own.
[6] The tenant should make a note of the annual increment of the rental amount. He/she should also check whether it is clearly mentioned in the rental agreement.
[7] Lastly, the tenant should confirm if the landlord has any reservations against consuming non-vegetarian food in his house or having a pet. There are also some landlords who do not want bachelors or women tenants.
One should always clarify these issues before renting the house.
By keeping in mind the above-mentioned points you can fearlessly rent a house by signing a rental agreement.
