questions for landlords and tentants

I think it depends on what it is. If the tenant broke a window, they should have to replace it. However, if the hot water heater has reached the end of it's life, the landlord should be responsible. If a tenant gets something fixed by a 3rd party, they should provide the landlord with the receipt. I've been on both sides of the situation. It's important that both parties communicate regarding the repairs. Hope this helps!

I think the best thing to do would be to ask the landlord if you can fix it, and will he reimburse you for it, or deduct it from your rent. If he says yes, you can fix it, then deduct it from your rent and save the receipt. That's only if he is an honest landlord, and not a complete jerk. And it also depends on what needs fixing too. There are some specifications that pertain to the landlord tenant laws which certain things are to be fixed immediately.

I used to rent an apartment before and I remember my agreement with the owner was I something goes wrong and I spent something to get it fixed, the amount in fixing it will be deducted from my monthly rent. And that I should inform him before doing anything and we both agree that what was broken is indeed not our fault. enjoy life!

it all depends on the amount that has been spent and the type of damage that is done... also it depends on the common understanding of the landlord and the tenant as to who pays it..

I'm fairly certain that depends. Technically, the landlord should be the one to fix it in general. Other than that, if the tenant takes it on themselves to fix it then it depends on the landlord. Some might decide to reimburse the tenant, but once the tenant takes it into their own hands without any formal agreement on the landlord's part then I'm pretty sure reimbursement is not guaranteed. It'd be easier to have a written understanding that's dated and signed. I know that we're tenants at an apartment and we've spent several hundred dollars fixing up the apartment. We restained the floor in the living room (it's hardwood that they painted brown so we sanded it down and stained it Mahogany instead), repainted all the rooms except the bedroom, added doorknobs where they were missing, and did some other small touch-ups and repairs. Are we getting reimbursed for any of this? No. There was never any agreement or understanding that we would be, though the landlords gave us the ok to do it and in exchange we were allowed to have pets without increased rent or anything even though there's a no-pet clause (which is good since now we have 2 cats, a dog, and a bunny!). Ultimately, though, we just wanted to do it to make it more hospitable and since we've been living here for over a year I'd say the investment is more than there. :)