3 Things every Tenant must watch out for

Did you hear about Bambi Mehta? The one who got that new job at Embassy Gold Links, and was all set to move into his brand new rented apartment on a sunny Saturday morning. When he landed up with all his shiny new furniture at his new apartment after paying his hefty 10 months of rent deposit (his hard earned savings, mind you), he was in for an interesting surprise. His landlord did not show. In fact, the landlord was not even in the country. In fact, as it turned out the landlord had never even received the deposit. Our friend, Bambi Mehta (name changed, of course), had paid the deposit to – eh, yes you guessed right - an imposter! Now, before we pass judgement on our friend, Bambi Mehta, let’s just consider whether we ourselves take these precautions when oh so excitedly moving into our brand new rented home!
Here are 3 things every tenant should do before selecting that brand new home:

1. Verify ownership
Are you sure that the party you are dealing with is the actual owner or an official representative of the owner? If they claim to be the owner, please ask for some proof. The below are some examples of ownership proof:

1. Electricity bill, or
2. Property tax paid receipt, or
3. The Khata, or
4. Registered sale deed

If they are a representative, please check for some official document authorising them to deal on the owner’s behalf. This is especially true if you are dealing with an individual or a small firm.  Larger property management companies will check ownership when taking on a property under management (we always do), so when dealing with a reputed company, you can skip this step.

2. Check termination clauses
It is in the interest of all parties to have a reasonable exit clause. At PropertyAngel, we consider 2 months reasonable. It gives the tenant sufficient time to find a new place, and for us to find a new tenant. We also give every tenant a freshly painted and professionally cleaned house, and expect that they return it in the same professional condition when they vacate. We make sure that all our clauses are transparent, and no one feels unfairly treated. However, if you are not dealing with a professional firm such as ours, please ensure that you check for such clauses, and ensure that they are present, mutual and fair.

3. Sign an exhaustive Inventory Check
It is also in the interest of all parties to know EXACTLY how the property was passed from one to the next. At PropertyAngel we give the tenant a detailed inventory check that we ask them to sign. At exit, the tenant is not accountable for anything that was not mentioned in that form, or for anything that was damaged when they took the place.
If you are not dealing with a professional firm, it is best you do this check yourself.
 
Well, we hope our friend, Bambi Mehta was able to recover his deposit and find a new house! Like they say, “Learning from your mistakes is smart. Learning from other’s mistakes is wise.” Happy wise-house hunting to you!

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