In: Finance
Since, multiple questions have been posted, I have answered the first one (Question 32).
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Question 32:
An individual who rents out his/her property for residential/commercial purposes is known as a landlord. At the time of renting the property, an agreement is prepared between the landlord and the tenant (the person who takes the property on rent) which may specify the terms and conditions, right and duties of the landlord and the tenant. However, all the right and duties may not exactly be included in the agreement and some rights and duties are implied by the nature of landlord-tenant relationship. The rights of the landlords include:
1) The right to claim and collect rent and security deposit from the tenant on time and as specified in the rent/lease agreement.
2) The right to inspect the rented property at any point of time after giving due notice to the tenant in advance.
3) The right to get the property vacated or get the tenant evicted in case the tenant fails to pay rent or violates other terms and conditions of the rent agreement.
4) The right to select the tenant as per own requirements/convenience. For Instance, a property owner may wish to rent his/her property to a family and not to a bachelor.
5) The right to adjust security deposit against any damages caused to the property as a result of improper usage by the tenant. However, the landlord cannot use the security deposit to adjust for normal wear and tear of the property.
6) The right to conduct a walk-through of the property with the tenant, both at the inception and termination of lease.
Besides having these rights, a landlord is required to fulfill the duties specified below:
1) The duty to provide all the basic facilities such as water, electricity and gas to the tenant (the bill for these services, will however, be paid by the tenant only).
2) The duty to ensure that the property is habitable and ready for use by the tenant.
3) The duty to pay all taxes (as and when they become due) and comply with all the requirements/compliances as applicable with respect to the property.
4) The duty to carry out repairs and maintenance as and when required and on the notice/request provided/of by the tenant. Minor repairs and maintenance, may however, be carried out by the tenant only. This clause is generally included in the rent/lease agreement.
5) The duty to refund the security deposit (after any adjustment(s), if required) to the tenant at the expiry of the lease/rent agreement.
6) The duty to provide sufficient notice to the tenant of his/her intention to inspect the property. Random inspection/ visit at the rented property should not be done and is generally not allowed as per the applicable rules.
7) The duty to provide the tenant with the list of damages against which the security deposit is planned to be adjusted. The landlord should act honestly and unreasonable claims should not be made in order to keep the entire amount of tenant's deposit.