Faye’s Fact or Fiction

Faye Humphrey
By M. Faye Humphrey

 

Will you say Fact or Fiction to the following common real estate beliefs about residential renting/leasing?

1. As the Tenant, I can have anyone I wish move in and live with me, as long as I pay the rent.

2. As a Tenant, I cannot be held responsible for the actions of anyone who is my guest, visitor or invitee to the premises.

3. As a Tenant, I can pay my rent in partial installments or whenever within the month, when I get the money.

4. As the Landlord, if the premises have Smoke Detectors and/or Carbon Monoxide Detectors, then the Tenant is responsible for maintaining in working order, changing the batteries and notifying the Landlord if they are not in working order.

Well, let’s see how we did with these Fact or Fiction statements. We are going to reference the Arizona Association of Realtors® Residential Lease Agreement:

1. As the Tenant, if I pay the rent, I can have whomever I choose as a roommate….FALSE See lines 11-17, the tenant can only do this with the Landlord’s written consent.

2. As a Tenant, I cannot be held responsible for the actions of anyone who is my guest, visitor or invitee to the premises….FALSE See lines 160-166, anyone who the Tenant invites onto the premises and then commits a crime or a disturbance, can result in a Violation of the Lease and result in Immediate Termination of the Tenancy.

3. As a Tenant, I can pay my rent in partial installments or whenever within the month, when I get the money….FALSE, according to Lines 42-43, the Landlord is not required to accept partial payments, and if the Landlord does accept partial payments, that does not change the rent due date, not does it release the Tenant having to pay the full amount of rent due

4. As the Landlord, if the premises have Smoke Detectors and/or Carbon Monoxide Detectors, then the Tenant is responsible for maintaining in working order, changing the batteries and notifying the Landlord if they are not in working order….TRUE, As the Landlord, the Tenant IS responsible for maintaining the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors in working order, with operable batteries and only notifying the Landlord should the detectors not be in working order.

 

M. Faye Humphrey is the CEO/Team Leader/Managing Broker of Keller Williams Realty Biltmore Partners and an ADRE Certified Instructor at Arizona School of Real Estate and Business. Faye can be reached at 602-999-7223 or faye@fayehumphrey.com.