Why you need to have a tenancy agreement

We all know renting out your property is not an easy business without rules and regulations both for the tenant and the landlord. Rehemah Nabachwa, a landlord, says having rules governing both the tenant and landlord is very important, and she explains why.

Making payments on time
Nabachwa says when a tenancy agreement is in place, it helps to reduce on chances of tenants defaulting on rent because they are obligated to follow the rules of the written agreement.
In cases where tenants do not pay on time, the landlords have to remind them that rent is due.
“The tenancy agreement must have specific days when and how the tenant is supposed to pay even for late payments, it is not the landlords responsibility to ask the tenant when he or she is supposed to pay rent,” she advises.

Mutual respect
Nabachwa says with rules and regulations, both parties control their behaviour and respect each other. Besides, it will also control disrespect among tenants.
“It will control tenants in other incidents like physical fighting, disrespect and quarrelling, knowing that they have rules they follow and for breaking consequences,” she adds.
Nabachwa adds that without tenancy agreements, stipulating behavioural rules and regulations, some tenants provoke others, and encroach on other tenants’ space without permission.
“Here, the landlord has to communicate to all tenants beforethey move in,” she says.

Maintenance
Nabachwa says if the landlord sets rules and regulations, tenants have to be very careful when it comes to maintenance and cleanliness within the premises.
“ Tenants should know the dos and don’ts of the premises regarding cleanliness, especially garbage management. For those who are in urban areas, they have to make sure their garbage is collected on time by the garbage collectors,”she says.

Overcrowding the house John Mary Mukasa, a property manager at Smart House Agency, says overcrowding is another problem which can be resolved with the existence of a tenancy agreement.
“You can sign an agreement with two people but by the end of the year, you find that the house is occupied by more than five people, which is a problem when it comes to maintenance,” he says.
He adds that this also inconveniences other tenants and depreciates the house.
The offending tenants will not add an extra coin to their pay or take care of repairs caused by the many occupants of the house.

Religion
Mukasa adds that beacuse certain foods are a taboo in some religions, if you have tenants from religions with rules against some foods, you may have to include a rule to remind tenants to be mindful of their neighbours’ beliefs, and foods that are a taboo in their religion, and not to prepare such meals from a place that will expose the affected neighbour to the aroma.
“Muslims are the most affected religion when it comes to renting because you can find that out of 10 tenants, only two are Muslims and it is very hard to convince others not to cook certain food and having drinks when you do not have the rules and regulations regarding this,” he says.

Abrupt eviction
Mukasa says an agreement will save tenants from unfair abrupt eviction.
“At times, this happens when a landlord get a new tenant willing to pay double what you’re paying but the tenancy agreement saves you from being evicted out of the house without a warning letter,” he says.
Mukasa adds that when there is an agreement, it might not be easy for the landlord to kick you out of the house because you will have a right to sue him or her for unfair eviction.
“The landlord has no right to unfairly kick out tenant when the tenancy agreement exists, you have to follow the agreement,” he says.

What to agree on
Paying bills in time- Tenants should know who is in charge of paying utility bills such as water.
Security - Tenants and landlords have to agree on who will be in charge of the security of the premises. It should be made clear who will cover the cost of hiring security.
Garbage management- Tenants are supposed to pay for garbage collection not the landlord. However, if it is the landlord handling that, it should be made clear.