A tenant is someone who pays rent to a landlord in order to live in an apartment
that they provided for a specific amount of time.
What are the responsibilities of the tenant?
The most important thing a tenant can do is pay the rent and pay it on time.
They may have other responsibilities such as taking care of the apartment and
not allowing any damage to happen. They can be responsible for mowing the lawn
and their own snow removal. It all depends on what is written in the lease.
They want have to pay their own utilities as well. Read your lease before signing
it so you understand what you have to do.
I threw a party on a Saturday night and the other tenant who lives above me
complained to the landlord how noisy we were. Isn't our right to have
a party because we pay rent?
Yes and No. It is your right to have a party but just as you pay rent so do
the other tenants. In most leases there are noise restrictions, some leases
say that there can be no loud noise after 11pm which in some places is a town
ordinance as well. Next time you may be lucky the other tenant does not call
the police. Be courteous to your neighbors you kind of have to live with them.
My landlord recently came into our basement to do some repairs and the basement
was a mess. He requested we clean it but it is our space do we have to clean
it?
You really only have to keep a common space clean, if you are the only tenants
using the basement, it should not matter unless the mess could be a health hazard.
My landlord is taken me to eviction court, do I have to show up?
Yes, if you are summoned then yes you should but it is not a law that you do.
In some cases if the tenant does not show up the Sheriff can go over to the
residence and place a 72 hours notice on your door. If you simply show up you
could get 30 more days out of the apartment. Show up for your own sake.
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