10 Easy Ways To Be The Best Tenant Ever While Living Off Campus

By Alexandra Brown on September 24, 2014

Making the shift from dorm living to off campus living while away at college can require some adjustment. You’re no longer having everything done for you, and you’re one more step closer to becoming an adult.

To ease the transition while keeping your dignity, here are 10 easy ways you can be the best tenant ever while living in housing off campus.

1. Pay your rent on time.

This seems like an obvious rule of thumb because when you go through your lease before signing, you’re convinced you’ve memorized that the rent is due on the 15th of every month. How hard could it be to drop off that check, only one time per month, and at the same time every month nonetheless?

Well, you will be surprised at how quickly that date approaches every month, and when you have other things going on to worry about, it’s easy to let it slip your mind.

However, it’s important to remember that paying rent on time is what you agreed to in your lease. Set a reminder on your phone, mark it on your calendar and remind your roommates.

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2. Be polite and reasonable with your requests.

When you’re noting problems with your house/apartment to your landlord, you should aim to be as polite and respectful as possible. They probably won’t go out of their way to help you right away if you’re anything other than pleasant.

Also, realize that they aren’t God, and cannot fix every single minor detail you may think is wrong, which is where the next point comes in.

3. Have basic house maintenance skills.

In order to have to bother your landlord with as little frequency as possible, move in to your new place with a basic knowledge of maintenance skills. These include, but are not limited to: unclogging a toilet, changing a light bulb and fixing the toilet flush lever.

4. Put yourself in your landlord’s shoes.

As you should do in any situation in life, put yourself in your landlord’s shoes. How would you want your tenants to act? Probably with respect, politeness and consideration. We’re all human.

5. Don’t be careless.

Do your part by cleaning up after yourself, and taking proper precautions to avoid potential damage that could occur.

By this I mean keep up parts of your place that could become dirty, moldy and otherwise require immediate attention from your landlord.

6. Let your landlord know about serious problems as they occur.

When maintenance issues occur in your apartment or house, like the refrigerator light goes out, or paint is chipping, or windows won’t close properly, it’s important to let your landlord know as soon as possible as the problems are happening, so they don’t get worse.

Also, it’s important to give your landlord as much time as possible to deal with the problem, to minimize the chances of it getting even worse.

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7. Be reachable and approachable.

If you want to have a good relationship with your landlord, you need to be approachable, and, more importantly, reachable.

You can’t expect for your landlord to get back to you about problems or other issues if you aren’t able to ensure that you’re reachable, either via email or phone, and capable of getting back to them. No one likes a flake.

8. Be respectful.

As said before, we’re all human, and you have to give respect to get respect. Treat your landlord how you would like to be treated by them, and how you would want to be treated as a landlord yourself, by other tenants.

This helps to form a good relationship with your landlord right off the bat and avoid later problems.

9. Communicate clearly.

You can’t expect your landlord to meet your every need if you’re not clear about what you specifically want. Be concise, and to the point, to avoid confusion and further delay.

10. Follow rules.

This should also be obvious, but you should follow the rules as they are stated directly and clearly in your lease.

One example of this is having pets in your apartment/house. If your lease requires that you pay a pet fee to have pets, pay the fee. If your lease forbids pets, don’t try to get away with having them. If you’re not supposed to paint walls, don’t paint them. If you’re allowed to, make sure to paint them back to their original color.

Following these 10 simple bits of advice can undoubtedly ensure that you are the most desirable tenant to your landlord.

It may seem like you’re growing up really quickly and are having to deal with problems you’ve never had to deal with before, but this just means you’re maturing, and preparing for the near future.

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