How To Protect Yourself Legally As A Newbie House Tenant

If you have just rented a house for the first time, then you need to go out of your way to protect yourself.

It’s not uncommon for landlords to employ unscrupulous practices, in order to save money and scam their tenants. It’s very common for landlords to refuse to make repairs, for example. It is also common for landlords to try and steal their tenant’s deposits at the end of the lease period, which they do by pretending that the property has been damaged in ways that it hasn’t (or claiming pre-existing damages were caused by their current tenants).

This post will tell you how you can protect yourself legally as a newbie house tenant:

Tenant Insurance

The first thing that you need to make sure that you do when you sign a new tenancy agreement is to take out tenant insurance, which can protect all of your belongings if they are damaged because of some kind of disaster outside of your control. According to this guide, tenant’s insurance is one of the most affordable ways of saving yourself damage fees and losses as a tenant. A tenant’s insurance application is relatively straightforward and you can apply online.

Deposit Protection

Depending on where you live in the world, your landlord could have to protect your deposit by handing it over to a third-party deposit protection service. If you aren’t legally required to in your state or country, then you should ask your landlord if they would be willing to. A deposit protection service will prevent you from losing your deposit if your landlord tries to seize it from you at the end of your tenancy. If it is legally required and your landlord doesn’t do it, then you can take them to court.

Inventory Catalog

Make sure that you catalog all of the inventory (and each item’s condition) at the time that you start your tenancy. The best way to do this is by taking a video. If you do not do this and you reach the end of your tenancy, then your landlord could claim that their property is in a worse condition at the end of your tenancy than it was when the tenancy first began. An inventory catalog is very easy to prepare and will give you some kind of defense if your landlord does try to do this to you at the end of your tenancy.

Record Conversations

Lastly, make sure that you record all conversations that you have with your landlord. It’s not uncommon for landlords to make promises that they don’t keep. Recording conversations with your landlord will make it a lot easier for you to prove that your landlord has agreed to something if they later deny it. if you do not have any evidence, then it will just be your word against theirs in court if you later have to take some kind of legal action against them. You usually don’t have to tell your landlord that you are recording their phone call, but the law might vary depending upon where you live.

If you are a new tenant and want to protect yourself against unscrupulous landlords or damage, then this post’s guidance will tell you exactly what you need to do. Make sure to consider each point carefully, so you can reduce your chances of being left with a sour taste in your mouth at the end of your tenancy.