Should Tenant Service The Aircon Before Handover To Landlord?

Should Tenant Service The Aircon Before Handover To Landlord? In order to protect the rights of both the tenant and the landlord, almost all the state governments have established authorities for a residential tenancy.

The Tenancy act can vary in each state but it is still interesting to read them. It becomes more interesting when it comes to establishing the responsibility of maintenance of aircon in a rental property.

Is the tenant responsible for servicing aircon before handing over the property to the landlord or landlord is responsible for it?

Maintenance of things provided by the landlord

Morally, tenants should repair and maintain the things provided by the landlord during the tenancy. They must clean the filters of the air conditioner if it needs to be fixed otherwise the duty of maintaining and repairing the air conditioner falls on the landlord.

Responsibility for servicing aircon in exceptional cases

• If as per the lease agreement, the tenant and landlord have excluded aircon from the rented property whether it is working or not then the tenant will not be responsible for its servicing.
  
• The tenant will be responsible for the servicing and repair of the air conditioner if it is damaged due to his negligence or lack of taking care. The landlord can give him a notice in this regard.

However, people living in hot climatic regions may not sign a tenancy agreement for a property that has a non-working air conditioner.

About cleaning carpets

Though in some states, tenancy laws have clearly defined cleaning the carpets before leaving the premises nothing has been said about the servicing and maintenance of air conditioners.

In some states, the tenant is not responsible for getting the carpets professionally cleaned before handing over the property to the landlord unless it has been agreed in the lease agreement to keep pets with him.

So, the landlord or his agent can include a special clause in the lease agreement to clean the air conditioner before leaving as they can do for cleaning the carpets as a dirty air-conditioner can be more dangerous to your health than a dirty carpet.

Responsibility of the tenant

Your air conditioner can be contaminated by fungi, mold, pet dander, dust, dirt, and toxins of cigarettes, etc. which can make you sick if not cleaned regularly and frequently. So, the tenant is responsible to decontaminate the air conditioner before leaving the property and handing it over to the landlord so that the new tenant can breathe in healthy air.

Responsibility of the landlord

According to tenancy laws in some states, the landlord is responsible to check and clean the coils, sumps, trays, and air outlets of the aircon annually to provide clean air to his tenants.

If he fails to carry on his responsibilities then he can be penalized for non-compliance with various acts of the rental tenancy as well as acts of health and safety at the workplace. The injured party can take civil action on the offender’s landlord.

Conclusion

The tenant should service the aircon before handover to the landlord if both of them have agreed to it in the tenancy agreement. Still, the tenant should keep the aircon free from fungi, algae, sludge, scale, dust, and rust, etc. even if it has not been mentioned in the agreement.