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One of the biggest advantages of living in an apartment is that you don’t have to worry about maintenance—that’s your landlord’s job. If something breaks due to normal wear and tear, your landlord has to pay for the replacements or repairs necessary. But if you break something due to your own negligence, you most likely have to pay for repairs out-of-pocket or sacrifice your deposit.
To avoid one or the other, it’s crucial that you avoid the habits that can increase the wear and tear in your unit as well as increase the chances of something breaking. Here are some habits that you should start actively avoiding today:
- Flushing everything and anything down the toilet
Your toilet is not a garbage bin—it will not be able to break down anything other than human waste and toilet paper. If you flush other things like wet wipes, dental floss, cotton pads, sanitary napkins, and condoms, you will likely end up causing a blockage in your pipes and clogging your toilet. If the blockage is bad enough, you would have to call a reputable plumbing company to get rid of it—and you will most likely have to pay for the repairs, too.
- Not using your sink properly
Similar to flushing inappropriate things down the toilet, you can also cause a major blockage in your pipes by putting all sorts of food down the sink. Even if you have a garbage disposal, you should stay mindful of the types of food you are throwing in there. For example, here are the types of food waste you should never put down in your garbage disposal:
- Animal bones
- Coffee grounds
- Pasta, rice, and bread
- Eggshells
- Fibrous or stringy fruits and vegetables
- Pits and seeds
- Onion layers
Habitually putting these things down your garbage disposal can increase its efficiency over time. At worst, doing so can make your garbage disposal stop working completely, which would make up for quite a hefty repair bill.
- Sticking things on the wall
Whether it’s posters, stick-on hooks, or random stickers, avoid putting anything adhesive on your apartment walls. Why? Because there is a good chance that the paint—or worse, the drywall—will come off along with the adhesive when you eventually remove it. At best, it will leave a little residue, but it can still serve as a hassle when you move out.
The same goes for wallpaper that leaves residue and doesn’t peel off easily. There is a lot of cheap wallpaper advertised as “no-residue”, but that may not be entirely true. To be safe, try installing the wallpaper on a small portion of the wall and leave it for a few weeks. If it comes off easily and without residue, it may be safe to cover the rest of the wall with it.
- Abusing furniture and appliances that are not yours
If the apartment comes with furniture and appliances, treat them as if they were your own. Many renters misuse furniture and appliances because they think that their landlords will replace them without question, but if your landlord sees signs of damage due to negligence or abuse, they will have a reason to deduct the damages from your deposit.
- Not cleaning your carpets
Cleaning carpeted floors can be quite a hassle. Aside from regular vacuuming, you would have to get them professionally cleaned every six months or so. Not cleaning your carpets regularly can not only affect your health while living in the apartment, but it can also put your deposit at risk. Any stains or residue on the carpet, even if they are odorless or colorless, can deduct a significant fee from your deposit.
- Doing a bad paint job
Many landlords will allow you to repaint an apartment on the condition that you paint them back into the original color before you move out. If you’re going to do the paint job yourself, be sure to do it properly and use good-quality paint. Otherwise, you will likely have to pay a fine for not meeting the landlord’s requirements.
To be safe, hire a professional painter instead. You could also try asking your landlord for a reference so that you can hire someone that they trust to do a good job on the apartment.
If you are guilty of these habits, break them now. Otherwise, you could end up paying a lot of fines before you move out or worse—lose your deposit entirely. Furthermore, you want a good reference from your landlord, and being a good tenant can help you secure that for the next time you move.
Meta title:Avoid These Renter Habits If You Don’t Want to
Lose Your Deposit
meta desc: If you want to move out with your deposit intact, there are several
apartment habits that you need to avoid. Read on to learn more about those
habits.
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