What to Know About Apartment Living Etiquette


Proper Behavior Every Tenant Should Know to Impress a Landlord

Having good relationships with your landlord and neighbors is crucial if you live in an apartment, condo, or townhouse. Getting to know your neighbors will make them much more likely to come to you if they have a problem like a noise complaint.

Meanwhile, being a good tenant will help you benefit from the doubt if another tenant complains or your landlord finds lease violations.

Of course, landlords aim to treat all their tenants fairly, but if you prove you’re a good tenant, you can live there for years without any issues. But what makes a good tenant?

Here are a few etiquette rules you should know:

Apartment Living Etiquette

What Tenants Should Know About Apartment Living Etiquette

Renewing Your Lease

Renewing your lease itself isn’t enough to qualify for good tenant etiquette. However, it would help if you always gave notice when you want to continue your lease.

In most cases, the landlord or management company will handle this for you by sending a letter at least 30 days before your current lease expires. However, if they don’t, they may have a policy for notifying them if you plan to renew or move out.

Avoid Damages

Every apartment and home is subject to wear and tear, especially if you’ve lived in the same unit for a few years. However, while landlords expect some scuff marks, they want to ensure you don’t damage the property in a way that can cost thousands of dollars to repair.

Since landlords can perform inspections, avoiding property damage is crucial, mainly because they might look for lease violations whenever they enter your home.

Make Timely Maintenance Requests

Some maintenance requests can wait. For example, if your dishwasher breaks, you may hand-wash dishes in the sink to avoid maintenance entering your apartment when you’re away.

However, serious maintenance requests must be dealt with as soon as possible. For example, if your heater breaks in the winter, you should call…