Landlords or property managers set rules sometimes known as covenants for intending tenants to regulate the use of the property sought after, it is expected that some tenants could become difficult to manage over time, hence breaching the rules set before handing over possession of an apartment will certainly indict tenants who turn out difficult afterwards.
These house rules can sometimes appear overbearing on the potential tenants who may find it difficult to decipher the contents or disagree with some of the rules set. Irrespective of intending tenants’ opinions or objections, the rules must be set and will eventually surface in the tenancy agreement as a yardstick for being accepted as tenants of a house.
Some of the major house rules set for tenants renting a house are highlighted below;
House Rules for Tenants in Tenement Houses
- Not to play loud music on the premises to disturb other occupants
- Not to dump solid wastes in front of the apartment occupied or the premises, waste bins should be placed at designated points for ease of carting away by the appropriate agency.
- Not to litter the environment with junk.
- To participate in every environmental sanitation organized within the premises
- To pay your rent as and when due without delay.
- Not to deface the walls or gate of the said property with flyers, posters or billboards without the landlord or landlady’s consent.
- To seek the landlord or landlady’s written consent before hosting a party or large meeting on the premises
- To contribute to the approved service charge or levy for cleaning toilets, bathrooms, common pathways and the surroundings.
- To pay utility bills such as electricity, water, waste management and other common utilities promptly to the assigned person(s), appropriate agency or office.
- Not to create any sort of nuisance on the premises
- Not to sublet the property without obtaining written consent from the landlord or landlady forthwith.
- Not to pound or use firewood in the apartment. Pounding should be done in the kitchen, and cooking herein should be done with a gas cylinder or kerosene stove only.
- Not to nurture, train or rear animals within the premises.
- To use only toilet tissues or water in the latrine sewage system and not sheets of paper or cornsticks etc.
- To surrender possession of the said property at the expiration of the tenancy as agreed by both parties.
House Rules for Tenants in Flats, Bungalows and Commercial Buildings
- Not to install, put fixtures, add or alter the condition of the said premises without the consent of the landlord or landlady in writing, such consent is not to be unreasonably withheld.
- Not to interfere with the walls and ceilings such as nailing on the walls of the said premises as to cause damage to any part of the premises, without the consent of the landlord or landlady in writing, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld.
- Not to alter or permit to be altered any structural alterations on the premises without the consent of the landlord or landlady in writing, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld.
- To permit the landlord or landlady and her representative(s) to enter the said premises at all reasonable times to view the condition thereof and to channel all future communications to the landlady.
- To keep the said premises windows, doors, shutters lock and other fixtures, fittings and conveniences belonging thereto in good and tenantable repair and to see about the general cleanliness of the premises. Fair wear and tear exempted
- To repair, replace, or pay for all damages by its agents.
- Not to assign sublet or part with the possession of the premises without the consent of the landlord or landlady in writing, such consent is not to be unreasonably withheld.
- To pay for the utility bills on the premises occupied by it for the period under possession together with the rent.
- Not to bring or store petroleum products or any explosives anywhere on the premises.
- To keep the toilets and any other conveniences on the premises clean.
- To use only toilet tissues or water in the water closet sewage system and not sheets of paper or corn sticks etc.
- Not to tune or play radiogram or television on the premises to disturb other occupiers of the premises.
- To provide its waste container and shall join other tenants in cleaning the gutters and the whole premises when necessary.
- At the expiration of the term hereby agreed by both parties and any such renewal period, the tenant will peacefully surrender and yield up to the landlord or landlady or its attorney the premises in perfect and tenantable conditions as recorded in the attached schedule of condition herewith.