10 Nice Things You Can Do For Your Landlord

I know what you're thinking "Why would I want to be nice to the guy I rent a place from, he get's my money"... Sure, I totally get it, we pay our landlords a whole heck of a lot of money to live in a space, why should we care about them?! It's simple, they are human beings running a small business or large business, respect for your landlord can actually make your stay really easy.

Fun fact about myself, I have some pretty close connections to rental properties. Sometimes I even fill in for the landlord. So I have seen my share of people who just don't care for the property they are renting. Trust me, people can be disgusting and awful! I can completely understand why people choose to live like that, but not when you're renting a space. It's not a dump.

This is not really your house, just because you pay someone to have the space as your home, doesn't mean you don't also get a long list of rules you have to follow. It's a business deal, it's a contract, at the end of the contract, if you don't hold up your end, you don't get to walk away so easily. The rules, which I actually really respect, are set in place because eventually when you move out someone else will move in and the space has to be livable again. This is not my home that I rent, so I want to keep it new looking for as long as I can.

When you don't hold up your end of the bargain, people are affected. I'm really good at painting walls and trim because I've been painting those for a solid five years to clean the mess. Now I'm not complaining, it's allowed me to be a better person, but it still a crappy feeling to see that someone just could care less. You don't get to have everything for free and you shouldn't either. Your actions have consequences, hence the rules, so your actions don't have to affect everyone involved.

So now that I've reminded you why you should be nice to your landlord, let me show you 10 ways to be nice to them and make their life a little easier.

1) Take out the trash and do your dishes

I hate mice and other small animals that could find themselves in my house. Unless it's a pet, I don't know of anyone who likes wild animals in their house. Know what attracts these tiny animals? Old food! Take your trash on a little date every week to the end of the curb even if it's not full. Take the trash bags out regularly to the garbage can. Do your dishes to get rid of the old food, to keep bugs away and to keep your house smelling nice. Trust me, keeping the mice away and bugs is good for you.

2) Watch the walls!

Making small holes to put up frames? Sure. Accidentally dent the wall when moving in? Fine. Host a ragger where someone punches a wall? No, not okay. Putting your dirty feet up agains't the wall? No thank you. Leaving grease on the walls after cooking? Do you even like that smell? No, nobody does.

The walls are important big damages could cost you your damage deposit.

3) Clean the appliances regularly

You use these puppies everyday. If you like cooking, these can get exceptionally gross. Appliances are so important to keep clean! You store your food in them, you cook in them, you know you can get worms when food isn't properly handled right? Your food spends most of it life in an appliance. Bacteria grows, it has to be tamed. It's going to be gross, but you need to clean your appliances regularly. Also, some stoves lift up and it's incedibly important to clean the grease off of it otherwise you could have a grease fire.

4) Pay rent on time

I know this seems obvious, but you know sometimes it's not. This is part of your deal, your business contract with your landlord. Be the nice tenant who pays on time.

5) Don't be a slob

Again, another obvious thing here, but regularly vacuuming, washing your floors, and washing the bathroom is actually really good for a house. It avoids some pretty bad wear and tear to the house. Which is important because doing it regularly means it will be so much easier when you move out. Also, picking up crumbs with your feet is gross, right? I am right, right? It's gross.

6) You are not a Queen, don't act like one

Dude, you're getting a house or apartment. You don't get to demand things. I believe in paying your share and realizing how much things actually cost. Sure sometimes it's great to get a deal, but honestly, taking advantage of it just turns you into a privileged awful person. Realizing the cost of things can actually make you a much more nice person and grateful. So before you ask for something, maybe check yourself beforehand. The landlord is not there to be at your beck and call when something doesn't go your way.

7) Smells stick around

That's right, smells stay behind. Quite frankly, it's super gross. Being aware of the kind of smells you use is important. Make sure it's nothing too strong because getting rid of them is actually a challenge. This includes smoking inside!! I'm not sure if you've ever had to clean cigarette smells before, but it's hainous and cruel to leave that to your landlord to clean up.

8) Report problems right away

If you have a small plumping problem, don't let it become a big one. If you burn part of the kitchen, tell your landlord. Get insurance too, because if something does go wrong, you'll want it taken care of.

9) Snow removal is not a right, it's a privilege.

Snow isn't fun to move, if you're lucky, you will have snow removal, but sometimes the snow removal person doesn't alway do an amazing job, that's where you come in! Not your landlord. That's actually not his problem. Sure if the snow removal guy never shows, then you may want to give the landlord a call, but normally, you should be helping remove snow that the snow removal can't get. Snow removal will not shovel your porch, or come back after the snow plow comes by again (If they do, send me their number). Thank goodness you have a shovel, if you don't, might I recommend you get one? Shovelling a little snow isn't that bad, it's actually really healthy since it's physical exercise. On the upside, you don't have to do the whole driveway.

10) Respect your neighbours

On one side I have a very old lady and on the other a young family with tots. Following the city's curfew times for noise is actually super considerate and keeps your neighbours from calling the cops or your landlord. I am sure your landlord doesn't want to deal with that crap. So, my rule, "everyone leaves at 11"... Seriously my wifi name is "Please leave by 11". You don't have to go home, but while you live in city limits, you should find another place to be loud. It's just respectful.

Thanks for reading,

Samantha