While every Nigerian family dreams of buying their own house or apartment, it can be years or even decades before this dream will come true. The solution most families are going for is renting an apartment or house. This type of living situation has a lot of benefits: affordability, flexibility, opportunity to move from one apartment to another and from one city to another without any strings attached.
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However, there is no way to rent a place without communicating with a landlord, and this is where it often gets tough. There are so many types of landlords you will meet in your life, and not every one of them will be a pleasure to deal with. Want to know how to avoid being disappointed with your renting experience? Then check out this list and avoid these 5 types of landlords at all costs!
1. Lazy landlord
Part of every landlord’s responsibilities is maintaining the building, providing repairs and renovations when needed, and it’s your right as a tenant to demand things to be fixed immediately. Nevertheless, not every landlord is willing to devote time and money to this kind of work. If your landlord is lazy, you can spend months trying to get the broken stuff repaired, or even have to do the repair yourself. You can find out if your future landlord is lazy before moving into the new property by talking to people who used to occupy this apartment before you.
2. Aggressive landlord
Having an aggressive person as your long term landlord has a few negative effects on your life as a tenant. First, an intimidating landlord often harasses people for money, demanding the rent to be paid before is due or constantly reminding you how much you owe them and when this money should be paid. Second, when your rent period is about to be over, an aggressive landlord may start pressuring you into renewing the rent, even if you’ve clearly stated that you plan to move out of the apartment. Living under constant threat from the landlord can be very stressful, so if you’re noticing signs of aggression in your prospective landlord, better pass on the deal.
3. Nosey landlord
The right to privacy is one of the basic human rights that shouldn’t be broken by anyone, especially by a landlord – a person who has no relation to you other than providing you with a place to live in exchange for your money. If you’re noticing your landlord making calls at all times, visiting your place without any reason, or asking inappropriate questions, you know you’re dealing with an invasive landlord. While checking on their tenants from time to time is one of the responsibilities of a good landlord, giving you the unwanted attention and sticking their nose into your life is not something you should put up with, no matter how good the property may be.
4. Greedy landlord
Most rent agreements include a security deposit – a certain amount of money, usually a one-month’s rent, that is used to cover possible defects caused by the tenant after the rent period is over. This is a great practice that helps protect the landlord. However, some landlords tend to abuse this rule, claiming you are responsible for the defects that have, in fact, been here before you, and not giving your security deposit back. There is a simple way to avoid this situation: before the lease is signed, take your landlord through every crack, flaw, and scratch in the apartment, documenting everything you find, so that in the future you don’t get fined for existing defects.
5. Complaining landlord
This type of landlord is not as frequent as the other ones; however, if you have a large renting experience, you’re guaranteed to meet one. This landlord will seem to be soft and compassionate at first, but with time you’ll realize that all he does is complain: about previous tenants, about his own living situation, about how he’s not making any money from being a landlord, etc. If money is the biggest concern for your landlord, you can surely expect him to either jack up the price, find richer tenants, or, at the very least, ask you to pay your rent long before it’s due, which is both inconvenient and annoying. For the best renting experience watch out for complainers!
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