Who refurbishes a previously occupied apartment?

Who really should be responsible for the refurbishment of a previously occupied apartment?

Welcome to another episode of shelter matters on your number 1 hub for real estate matters in Nigeria.

The matter arising today might be perceived in a very concerned and harsh tone as I am experiencing today’s topic first hand and not close to being imagined.

Shelter being one of the major necessities to the existence of man should receive every attention required as your shelter directly and indirectly affects your day to day living/activities. From health, to emotions and even psychologically.

I had to change my apartment for comfort sakes! Albeit the journey has been more grueling than the emotional trauma that wrestled with my existence in my former place of abode. The path I travailed to my new apartment was characterized by a lot of potholes…Wait a minute! I think I’m digressing from today’s topic, so let’s leave the chronicles of my “new apartment palaver” for another day.

Back to the discourse, when moving into an apartment, you are always faced with an option of moving into a new building (meaning you would be the first occupant of such house) or an old one (it has had previous tenants). Now the major issue is, who should be responsible for fixing the old house where the new tenants will move into after payments have been made?

It’s clear that tenants are saddled with the responsibility of taking care of any apartment they occupy, thereby fixing whatever damages that occur during the period of occupancy.

However the question today is, whose responsibility is it to fix a house previously occupied by an old tenant before the new tenant moves in; the Landlord or the new tenant?

Landlords have times without number proven to lack integrity. They make listless promises to the new tenants; promises to fix the house and restore it to a level of comfort that makes you want to dream of heaven. But you often times realise that their promises are mere words because the blues end or for the not too fortunate ones it changes to hard-core rap the moment you move in.

 

Now the question is: Who really should be responsible for the refurbishment of a previously occupied apartment?

Landlord or the new tenant?

Oya, make me scatter yans…

 

Sharing experiences with us, majority of the people approached have at one time or the other faced such predicament with their landlords and agents thereby having to spend more than budgeted.

 

While trying to get opinions from agents, they clearly stated that this case is never their fault. “We state clearly to the prospective tenants whatever the Landlords says to us and it becomes unfortunate when the landlords go back on their words. We try to stand for the tenants sometimes but there isn’t much we can do” said Agent Jimoh

 

How do you think this injustice can be eradicated? Who do you think is to take up this responsibility? Landlords or tenants?

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