<p>D and several friends are planning to rent a house off-campus near their college. It is owned by a professor who will be on sabbatical. They have just received a copy of the lease, and I’m concerned about some of the conditions. Can someone tell me if this is standard?</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Tenants are required to get both renters’ insurance for personal property and liability insurance for injury, death, and property damage that names the landlord as an insured party. </p></li>
<li><p>Tenants are responsible for any repairs not covered by landlord’s insurance. As written, this would seem to include the landlord’s deductible. Is this a reasonable interpretation, and if so, is it a reasonable condition?</p></li>
<li><p>Tenants are responsible for snow removal, plowing, shoveling, and lawn care, including mowing the grass and raking leaves in the fall. (This is a house.) The students will be seniors working on senior theses; this concerns me.</p></li>
<li><p>Tenants are required to hire professional cleaners when they leave.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>With exception of lawn care, I don’t think these conditions are out-of-line. My D rented an apartment in New Orleans, and the lease was fourteen pages of tiny print covering all sorts of bizarre stuff. But the landlord was great and DD had no problems whatsoever. </p>
<p>In simple terms, when he returns I think the Prof just wants things to be pretty much as they were when he left. Renting to young women, I don’t think he anticipates the kind of problems (ahem) that might occur with young men … but if a problem should arise, he thinks the people who triggered the event should take care of the cost.</p>
<p>I don’t know if those conditions are ‘standard’ but I don’t find them unreasonable. Four of my five Ds lived in rentals at some point during their college years and all had similar conditions in their leases. The only item I’m unsure about is having the owner as a named insured on a tenant’s policy. Although they always had tenant and liability insurance, as all tenants should, I don’t recall that the owner had to be named on the policy. That may differ according to jurisdiction.</p>
<p>If they don’t want to be responsible for lawn/yard maintenance and snow removal, maybe they can mention that to the landlord and he can increase the rent to cover having a service do that. How large is the property? Is it really going to be that much of a problem to do it? If it’s several people in a house, then their cleaning schedule could include the outside items as well.</p>
<p>The language may not be standard but many have similar requirements. Landlords need to protect themselve against bad tenants. Usually tenants are responsible for lawn and yard maintenances for house rentals. If you have concern with time, you may hire snow removal and lawn mantenances. Around college campus, leases are generally tighter as many landlords have experienced high maitenance associted with college student rentals.</p>
<p>Lawn care might not be an issue if young men were renting. I’m just imagining four young ladies trying to get the lawnmower to the repair shop for its annual spring tune up.</p>
<p>That all sounds normal to me. Sometimes yard care is included in a lease, sometimes not…might need to include a gardener if the girls are not willing/able to do it. And “required” renters insurance is important…and cheap.</p>
<p>I understand the lawn care issue – but they can certainly hire a firm to come mow the lawn if they like. For the sake of his neighbors, I hope they do. (If I were in his shoes, I’d raise the rent higher and have lawn service included.) </p>
<p>But the responsibility for repairs seems excessive, and ought be capped at some reasonable amount – say not to exceed $150 per incident. Yes, if they flush something they shouldn’t down the toilet, sharing in the plumber’s bill makes sense – but if the plumbing line is clogged because a root has grown into the sewer line over time, that could amount to a very hefty bill that is not appropriately theirs. Same as if there is hail damage to the roof, and he has a thousand dollar deductible, or the washing machine gives up the ghost. On the one hand, he quite likely doesn’t want to have to deal with household maintenance issues from afar (I know we didn’t when we had a rental and lived in a distant city) – but there’s reasonable and unreasonable. </p>
<p>The cleaning service at the end of the tenancy is a good idea. </p>
<p>I suggest that before they take tenancy that they go through and take a lot of pictures to show condition of everything before they move in – with particular attention to anything that is not quite right (cracked, damaged, broken,stained, …) and then email him a set of them as well so that there is some solid information about the status of the house before they take it over. (This is, imo, a good idea for everyone who rents.)</p>
<p>Thanks, this is all very helpful - especially the idea of capping repair responsibilities.</p>
<p>In my area, people who rent out houses usually hire a garden service themselves. I assume that’s because they want to make sure the landscaping stays in good shape, and they can always set the rent to cover that expense if they want. I think regular snow and yard maintenance aren’t a good fit for most students’ schedules. Especially since some of them are already required to spend most weekends in the fall raking leaves around town as a fundraiser for their team. This is all new to both the renters and to the landlord, who just bought the house and is immediately leaving for a sabbatical out of the country.</p>
<p>I think that lease is much more severe than you would get for a typical student rental; our DS’s lease has none of those conditions. I have never heard of a landlord not being responsible for repairs; what if the furnace goes? In my neck of the woods, sabbatical houses typically go to a visiting (sabbatical) family or to a trusted grad student, who is charged less than market rent in exchange for keeping an eye on things (i.e., they are sort of a house-sitter).</p>
Totally unreasonable. They should only be responsible for repairs to damage that they cause. Normal wear and tear such as a broken furnace or “acts of God” such as hail damage should not by the tenants’ responsibility.</p>
<p>I don’t think the yard care requirements are really reasonable either, these are students, not landscapers. Snow removal is ok, unless there is a huge driveway or a ton of sidewalks.</p>
<p>Has this guy ever been a landlord before? Does he have any idea what he can legally do or not do?</p>
<p>Plus, being out of the country is a big issue. If there are problems, there is no way he can deal with it, which is why he is trying to push all responsibility onto the students. It would be the rare student who can easily deal with a roof problem or bad plumbing problem. At the very least he should have some local property management to deal with this stuff.</p>
<p>How old is the house? What condition is it in?</p>
<p>In my college town yard work and snow removal are typically contracted out. If the tenants do not fulfill the obligations it is the landlord who is hit with the fine and points are assessed which can result suspension of the rental permit. Which brings to mind . . .</p>
<p>With such a lengthy lease agreement and so much responsibility on the lessees, I would be sure this is in fact a permitted lease, which would insure adequate smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, etc… I would also insist on a local contact who could handle an emergency, such as a serious water leak.</p>
I wouldn’t sign a contract that had the above in it. It’s too open ended - how would the renters have any idea what’s covered by the landlord’s insurance or not? What if the landlord missed some payments on his insurance so it was no longer in effect - that would mean the renters would be responsible for everything.</p>
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I don’t like this one either - the landlord should be responsible for his own insurance. It’s reasonable to require that the renters have some form of renters insurance but it should be separate form the landlord’s insurance.</p>
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This is reasonable. If the students are unwilling to do it then they can hire it done. Honestly, it doesn’t take a lot of time to mow a yard and rake some leaves unless this is a 5 acre estate or something.</p>
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I don’t like the way this one’s written either since it’s also open-ended. It also shouldn’t be required. The tenants are responsible for reasonable care of the place as well as reasonable cleaning when they move but there’s no reason they should have to hire ‘professional cleaners’ for it and regardless, how’s that defined? Normal wear and tear s/b the responsibility of the landlord.</p>
<p>I’d examine this contract very closely based on the excerpt you posted here because it doesn’t sound like this prof has either rented out very much or his tenants never read or understood what they were signing.</p>
<p>Thank you all. In fairness to the landlord, I didn’t include everything - including the part that said he would deal with normal wear and tear and appliance breakdowns. I focused on the things that made me nervous, so you’re only getting a partial picture. Taking photos throughout the house is an excellent idea.</p>
<p>I believe the prof has never rented out; he is a new homeowner. This lease was drafted by his lawyer, and it looks to me like it doesn’t have students in mind.</p>
<p>With the help of all your comments, I can suggest to D some possible changes to the contract that would leave her and her roommates with more protection in case of problems. I think the house is old - I think over a hundred years old. There are sure to be things that come up.</p>
<p>I have no experience with raking leaves or cutting grass, so I didn’t know if that would be an easy job :-). We have no lawn and very few fallen leaves.</p>
<p>I would not sign up to this provision. (It seems to me that this landlord is trying to set up something like a triple net commercial lease.)</p>
<p>Most repairs that are necessitated by ordinary wear and tear and/or age are not covered by insurance. For example, what if the roof needed repair/replacement? Would the tenants be required to pay? Even if you are willing to accept the cost of this repair/replacement (I would NEVER do so in a student lease), I would suggest that you negotiate to pay for only the portion of the roof life you would use (for a 20-year roof, pay 1/20 of the cost). Again, I would never agree to this clause in a student lease. The same arguments could apply to the boiler, pipes, windows, etc. </p>
<p>I also agree with ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad that it is not reasonable for tenants to know what is covered by a landlord’s policy nor to basically be insurers of the landlord’s on time payments of insurance premiums.</p>
<p>I don’t know why the landlord would require the tenants to obtain insurance for injury, death and property damage. I’m not even certain that you can easily obtain such a policy (maybe some kind of umbrella insurance?). Typically, a landlord would obtain this insurance and the cost would be part of the rental rate paid. To the extent you can/are willing to obtain the insurance policy, I don’t have a problem with naming the landlord as an additional insured. Typically, the result is simply that the landlord has a direct right to make an insurance claim on the policy without waiting for reimbursement by the tenants.</p>
<p>Again, I agree with ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad that the “professional cleaners” language is too broad and open-ended. The typical language you would see in a contract like this would be that the house is left broom clean and in the same condition as at the beginning of the term of the lease, normal wear and tear excepted. </p>
<p>In any event, I would be certain to do a walk through of the property at the beginning of the lease, noting any problems with the property, and I would also recommend taking photos/video of the property at the beginning and end of the lease. The terms of the lease you have described make me think that the landlord could create problems for former tenants. </p>
<p>It is possible that an inexperienced landlord picked up a form of lease that was not intended for this situation. I would push back on the provisions you feel are unacceptable.</p>
<p>We had a tenant once whose dog did over $4,000 in damage to the house, so tenants DO sometimes cause significant damage that is more than the security deposit will cover. </p>
<p>And if no one mows the lawn, most cities will fine the homeowner… I get notices sometimes when a tenant does not take care of the yard. It is normal for a rental HOUSE like this to expect the tenants to care for the lawn/sidewalks (in a condo, the homeowner’s association usually takes care of it).</p>
<p>Regarding the professional cleaners, that is what the security deposit is usually for… if my tenants move out and leave a mess, I take the cleaning cost out of the security deposit.</p>
<p>My interpretation of that was that it meant any damages caused by the tenants, not any repairs at all, e.g., furnace or appliances. </p>
<p>How large is the yard? I don’t get how some of you think that this is an imposition on these students. Mowing a reasonable sized yard will take less than an hour a week, during mowing season (will they even be there during those months?), and, yes, girls are indeed capable of mowing a lawn! Raking leaves in the fall is not a huge deal, unless the property is large.</p>
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<p>All tenant policies that my Ds have had with their roommates have included liability coverage as well. This is not unusual in our experience, and students would be wise to have it to protect themselves in case of a situation where their liability is in question.</p>
<p>Another suggestion - have your kid (or you) either go online or in person to a couple of professionally run major apartment rental complexes in that area and read through the rental contracts they have. This will give a better idea of what the norm is for the area. You can then use this info as a negotiating point on the contract the prof has - i.e. convincing the prof to change those areas.</p>
<p>On the lawn - make sure the prof has the appropriate lawn care equipment available for use by the renters. Assuming there’s a power mower, there should be some provision to allow it to be tuned up for the season or fixed at the landlord’s expense in the event something happens to it. </p>
<p>I agree with other posters on another point - things will invariably come up, especially with an old house like this, so they need to know exactly what procedure to follow when the toilet breaks, the fridge quits working, there’s an elctrical fault, etc. They need a 24 hour contact number that can provide guidance on what to do. The prof will need to either manage this himself or hire it out to a property management company. If he plans to manage it himself then he needs to make sure he has contacts with plumbers, electricians, contractors, etc. and is ready to do the arrangements and pay for it and it needs to be pretty much 24/7 (ex: what if a water line breaks on a Sunday night and is in the process of flooding the house?). If the prof hasn’t thought this part through, he should. </p>
<p>If the whole thing sounds as if the landlord isn’t going to manage it properly then maybe the students should look at some other place to rent.</p>
<p>Below is an example from a lease on the maintenace, repairs and insurance:</p>
<p>[Since the owner is out of the country, you may include language to allow repair or replacement that can be reasonably paid by the tenant if the owner does not respond withing a reasonable time (ie 24 hrs) and that the Tenant may deduct the amount from the rent. (When refrigerator goes bad. What do the Tenant do? repair or replace? What if the owner does not respond within 24 and food go bad? Get pre-authorization: ie: Replace if repair cost exceed 50% of replacement cost? Number of estimates needed?..).] </p>
<ol>
<li><p>MAINTENACE. Tenant shall keep all parts of the Premises in good order and condition and shall surrender at the expiration of the Lease in the same condition in which was received, with the exception of reasonable wear and tear.<br>
a. GENERAL MAINTENANCE.<br>
– Tenant shall, at his/her expenses, furnish and replace all light bulbs, filters for air conditioning and furnace, and faucet washers as needed. Tenant shall be responsible for stoppage of water closets and for caulking around tubs and showers. Tenant shall maintain all carpeting and flooring on the Premises in a clean manner and in good condition.
– Tenant shall use and operate all electrical, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air conditioning and other facilities and appliances in accordance with the operating instructions and in a safe and reasonable manner.<br>
– In the event the plumbing in the Premises is frozen or obstructed due to negligence of Tenant or his/her guests, Tenant shall pay the cost of repairing frozen pipes or clearing such obstruction immediately.<br>
– Tenant shall not deliberately or negligently destroy, deface, damage, impair or remove any part of the Premises or the facilities and appurtenances thereto, nor permit any person to do so whether known by the Tenant or not.
– Any repair made necessary due to the negligent acts of commission or omission of Tenant or his/her guests shall be paid for by the Tenant.
– Tenant shall promptly report any defect, damage or breakage in the structure, equipment or fixtures to Landlord. If Tenant fails to give Landlord such notice and additional damage is a result thereof, Tenant shall be responsible for the repair of such additional damage.</p></li>
<li><p>GOOD REPAIR. Except as otherwise provided herein, Landlord will maintain the Premises in good repair and tenantable condition and will be responsible for all repairs not due to the fault or negligent of Tenant during the continuance of this Lease. Tenant shall be responsible for the first $75.00 of each repair requested from Landlord.</p></li>
<li><p>INSURANCE.<br>
a. Tenant shall obtain and maintain during the Lease Term (including any extension, renewal or holdover term) liability insurance against all claims on the account of personal injury and property damage for which Tenant may, as a result of use of occupancy of the Premises and/or facilities and common elements of the community, become liable with limits not less than (a) $100,000 with respect to bodily injury or death of any one person, (b) $300,000 with respect to bodily injury or death of any number of persons arising out of any occurrences, and (2) $25,000 per occurrence with respect to any instances of property damage. Tenant shall name Landlord as an additional insured and Tenant shall provide Landlord with a certificate of insurance evidencing compliance with this paragraph within thirty (30) days of occupancy.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I had another thought about this last night, as a resident of a college town. I live in a neighborhood that’s walkable to campus, but made up of owner-occupied homes. Zoning ordinances in this town are quite strict to protect property values in the handful of neighborhoods like mine. If a homeowner in this neighborhood set up an unpermitted rental, perhaps because he was ignorant of the zoning regulations, someone in the neighborhood would undoubtedly call the zoning authority, who would investigate and evict the tenants. I would make sure the new homeowner/landlord is acquainted with local ordinances regarding rentals and in compliance (i.e. has a rental permit).</p>
Raking leaves in the fall is not a huge deal, unless the property is large.</p>