Sometimes in order to identify a poor landlord one has to have a pretty good idea what comprises a good one. However, sometimes, when a landlord is so obviously bad, there’s no trick at all to recognizing that fact. So with no further delay, here are some identifying traits of rotten landlords.
This applies to landlords everywhere, from Los Angeles to New York City, from Mumbai to Madagascar. However, it mainly applies to college-town landlords, the sort that college students who live in residential college towns such as Athens, Ohio and Columbus, Ohio, experience quite often.
Traits of Bad Landlords
• Non-communicative. If the plumbing in your student rental on Court Street in Athens is no longer removing the smelly and disgusting traces of human beings’ physical processes from your home, you expect a prompt reply when you call the landlord. If the smell has worsened to truly hazmat levels by day two, and still no word from your landlord, you’ve got a bad one.
• Exaggerations. If the landlord of your rental house near Ohio State promises that he’s going to install a new high-tech refrigerator “right away,” to replace the wheezing antique that only slightly cools your beer and allows your milk to sour after three days, but then never follows through, you have a lousy landlord.
• Omissions. If the landlord of your three-bedroom house in Athens, Ohio neglects to tell you that the attic is infested with big mice (or small rats?), and then doesn’t do anything when you inform him of that fact, he’s a rotten landlord. If he somehow forgets to mention that the furnace only works when it’s “kind of cold,” and never does anything about it, he’s a slumlord. (Note: We’re using the male pronouns here, but don’t make the mistake of assuming that all abysmal landlords are males.)
• Sketchy business practices. If you hear from former tenants of your Athens or Columbus landlord that he confiscated their security deposits because of pre-existing problems with the apartment or rental house, that’s a bad landlord. Unfortunately, that’s not a rare situation in a college town. (You can avoid this issue by documenting with date-stamped photos or video anything problematic with your rental before moving in.)
• Surprise visits. If the landlord of your student housing in Athens or Columbus leads a small army of prospective future tenants on a tour of your home, he’s a crumby landlord. All for the worse if they show up while you’re doing naked yoga in the living room, without providing 24-hour notice.
These are just a few of the sure ways to spot a bad landlord. Here are a few of the ways to spot a good landlord. Yes, most of them are just the opposite of the bad-landlord characteristics.
Ways to Spot a Good Landlord
• Punctuality and promptness. Yep, a good landlord shows up when he says he will. They also show up promptly when you call about an urgent problem, such as a serious plumbing failure.
• Trustworthy. The best landlords can be trusted to keep their word, whether it’s about promised improvements (such as replacing that wheezy refrigerator) or fixing the sketchy plumbing.
• Follows the rules. Decent landlords abide by rental property laws, including regulations that require 24-hour notice if they plan to show your Columbus or Athens student rental to prospective renters.
• Effective communication. Good landlords encourage tenants to document any issues with the rental on move-in day, to avoid misunderstandings about pre-existing damage when you move out in nine months. If the separation between what you were promised in your apartment or house and the lived-in reality is small, you probably have a good landlord. If the lived-in reality bears no resemblance to what was promised, then, well, you know…
• Responsible and Caring. If your landlord is diligent about responding to your calls about serious issues in your rental, as opposed to never calling back, that’s another sign of a good landlord.
Forewarned Is Forearmed
So how do you find out whether a particular landlord is a skunk or an angel? It’s just like anything else these days. There’s very likely an online rating system for local landlords in Columbus and Athens, something that’s common in college towns. You can also use social media to crowd-source information about landlords. Or just ask around – over time word gets out about putrid landlords, and a wealth of information is likely floating around.
It’s also important to look for clues when you tour a prospective student apartment. If the present tenants seem angry at your arrival – perhaps they were practicing naked yoga in the living room? – that’s not a good sign. If they flip off your landlord behind his back, that’s not a good bellwether either. If the furniture and appliances look old and shoddy, that’s not reason for optimism. Neither is a student rental that looks like it belongs in a third-world backwater. If the rental exudes a lingering odor of rot and neglect, end the tour and resume your apartment search. You’ve very likely come close to falling into the grasp of a slimy slumlord.