In this week’s blog we will discuss different ways tenants can avoid financial losses when renting.

Know Your Rights

One of the first things you need to know when protecting yourself is your rights. The best place to start is by reading the residential tenancy act (RTA) for your province. If you do a search on the internet, you can find detailed and summary versions of the RTA for your province.

Get Receipts

These days most people pay rent electronically so there is an audit trail and a record of the transaction. The point here is to make sure that you have a record of any payments that you make, whether it’s rent, the damage deposit etc. If you are making payments using cash, make sure you ask for a receipt for the payment.

Understand and Keep a Copy of Your Lease

Before you sign the lease, make sure you review it with your landlord to make sure you have a common understanding of the details, and can hash out any concerns that either one of you may have. Once the lease is signed, it is a legally binding contract that both of you need to follow, so make sure you keep a copy. Whenever in doubt or whenever there is a dispute, start by reviewing the lease.

Maintain Clear and Open Lines of Communication

In last week’s blog, we talked about pests and in the blog before that, we talked about normal wear and tear and damage. One of the common ways to limit or prevent costs associated with these issues is by reporting these issues to the landlord immediately. Reporting these issues in a timely fashion can limit the severity of the problems and limit your liability as a tenant. On top of that, if you are having trouble paying your rent on time, letting your landlord know ahead of time may limit or prevent any sort of financial penalties

Get Renters Insurance

Most landlords will have property insurance but their coverage may not extend to your property and belongings. Some landlords may require you to get renters insurance but it’s probably in your best interest to get insurance to protect your property and any damage to your neighbours property or the building in general that you may cause. We talked about this topic in one of our previous blogs, but we recommend you reach out to an insurance company or your bank for further details.

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