Many higher institution students who live off campus have faced one challenge or another due to landlord and tenant agreements or disagreements.
In our fact-finding, many students across the country, Nigeria, have called us at All Campus Show, pouring their hearts out about the accommodation and indigene challenges they have been facing. Although All Campus Show has been helping many to pay school fees and supporting them to complete accommodation fees and other needs.
We have also realized that finances are not the only challenges they face. There are also issues such as human relations, learning to live peacefully with others, or living in a strange land. Many are just leaving home for the first time, therefore they need to understand some things.
Here, we will be talking about tenant and landlord agreements. According to a @LawStudents post on Facebook, it helped us to analyze the rights of student tenants and understand how to avoid trouble when they live in a landlord's house.
"You rented a house and paid your rent. Now you don't like the colour of the walls so you decide to repaint the house. You also want to install an AC, so you drill the wall and install it. Then you say:
'I paid my rent so I can do whatever I want inside the house.' That is not correct. As a tenant, you have the right to use the house during your tenancy, but this does not mean you can make any change you want without considering the landlord's rights or your tenancy agreement.
For example, before you:
🔸 Repaint the house
🔸 Drill the wall to install an AC
🔸 Remove or change doors
🔸 Build shelves or cabinets
🔸 Make other permanent changes to the house
Check your tenancy agreement first.
If the agreement says you need the landlord's permission, you should ask for permission before making the change. Even when the agreement does not clearly say so, it is safer to inform the landlord and get the permission in writing before making a permanent change, because you may leave the house later and the landlord may ask you to return it to its original condition.
Also, don't assume that because you paid for the improvement, the landlord must automatically pay you back.
THE SIMPLE RULE:
Paying rent gives you the right to use the house. It does not automatically mean you can change the house however you want. Before you change anything in a rented house, talk to your landlord first. A small conversation today can prevent a big problem tomorrow.