The house should have a decent paint job and there should be no leakages or damages. You might want to get the waterproofing and painting done before you rent out the flat just in case. Make sure everything in the house is in proper working condition.

Also Read: Get Ready for a Paint Job

When the contract is over, you must make sure that everything is in the same condition. Check every inch of the house. If anything is broken or out of order, you can get the repairs done and reduce the amount from the deposit.

Repairing and Maintaining the Flat

After giving your flat on rent in a perfectly good condition, it is the responsibility of the tenant to maintain the flat in the same condition. This means that if anything stops working or is broken by the tenant, she has to pay for the repairs.

However, if you have not given the flat to the tenant in fully working condition, you will be responsible for repairs and maintenance.

If a tap is leaking or a window latch or doorknob doesn't work, the toilets don't flush, a fan is creaking etc., the tenant should inform you before she goes ahead with the repairs. If you leave it to the tenant to do, she might hire expensive labour and slap a big bill on you. It is better to do it yourself or request your friend or relative in the city to get the job done for you.

Also Read: Home Repairs for Dummies

Getting Payments on Time

Fix the method of payment at the time of preparing the agreement. The tenant could either make payments through post-dated cheques that will be cashed on a particular date every month or by wiring the money to your bank account from theirs.

However, with the second method chances are that some transfer fees may be deducted by the bank. If the deducted amount is small, the total amount can be reduced from their deposit at the end of the contract.

Terminating the Contract

Usually the agreement is signed for a period of 11 months to a year and can be renewed thereafter if both parties are still interested.

However, if one party chooses to terminate the contract beforehand, they need to give a one-month notice. If this notice is given, the deposit will have to be returned to the tenant along with the non-cashed post-dated cheques.