Do you know all these words? If you don't understand something, click on the word.
Who must take care of these in your house, you (the tenant) or your landlord?
The law in Massachusetts says your landlord has to fix the house and take care of some things in his or her house. If the landlord doesn't fix the house, the landlord is wrong. It is against the law.
What do you think the landlord must take care of in Massachusetts? Click on those things you think are the responsibility of the landlord and see if you are right or wrong...
Do you remember which ones are the landlord's responsibility and which ones are the tenant's (your) responsibility?
If something is wrong in your house, call the landlords and tell them:
Look again at what landlords must do and what tenants must do.
Credits -- Who made these pictures?
Exits are doors to get out of the house. Sometimes windows are exits to get out of the house too, if there is a fire. A fire escape is an exit too. The landlord must make sure there are two exits for every apartment.
See LOCKS.
Use the mouse on your computer to click. Move the mouse to the word and click the button on the left side of the mouse.
A man buys a house. He is the owner. Now you live in his apartment or house and you pay him rent every month. He is your landlord and you are his tenant.
In the United States, a red light means "stop" and a green light means "go". That is a law. You are driving a car. You see a red light but you don't stop, you go. You are breaking the law.
It is against the law to go through a red light. The police will give you a ticket and you have to pay money or go to court.
Lead (Pb) is dangerous. If small children have too much lead in their bodies, their brains do not work well and they have problems in school. Old house paint has lead. Sometimes babies eat the old paint. Again, this is very dangerous.
If there are children under six years old in your house, the landlord must make sure there is no lead paint on the walls or windows from the floor up to six feet high. If a child in the house gets lead poisoning and there is lead paint in the house, the landlord must pay a lot of money for taking off the lead paint.
SMOKE ALARMS
Smoke alarms (smoke detectors) make a long loud noise (eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee) if there is smoke or a fire under them. They need a 9-volt battery. If the battery is too old, it will beep every minute. Put in a new battery.
Smoke alarms (smoke detectors) are the landlord's responsibility. The landlord must put smoke alarms outside the bedrooms, outside the kitchen, and in the basement. You must buy batteries for each smoke alarm.
DANGEROUS
If your smoke alarm isn't working, it's very dangerous. If there is a fire when you are sleeping, you and your family could die.
TOILET
The toilet is the landlord's responsibility. The landlord cannot rent you an apartment with a broken toilet.
SINK
The sink, bathtub, and the other plumbing are the landlord's responsibility. The landlord cannot rent you an apartment with no hot water.
BATHTUB, SHOWER
The bathtub, shower and other plumbing is the landlord's responsibility. The landlord cannot rent you an apartment with no hot water.
REFRIGERATOR
If the house already has a refrigerator, the landlord has to fix it or buy a new one. If it is your refrigerator, you have to fix it or buy a new one.
BEDS
The beds are the tenant's responsibility. If you don't have a bed, it's not a problem for the landlord.
WINDOWS
The windows are the landlord's responsibility. If a window is broken the landlord has to fix it. See EXITS.
TV
No, the television is not the landlord's responsibility! If the tenant wants one, the tenant can get one.
ROOF
The roof is the landlord's responsibility. If the roof is no good the landlord has to fix it.
WALLS, PAINT
Painting the walls is the landlord's responsibility. And if something is wrong with the wall, the landlord should fix it. The landlord must pay to paint the inside and the outside of the house.
See LEAD POISONING.
SOFA
The sofa and all the other furniture is the tenant's responsibility.
LIGHTS
The wiring of the lights (the electrical part inside the walls and ceilings) and the light fixtures are the landlord's responsibility. You must buy the light bulbs.
WASHING MACHINE
The washing machine (and the dryer) are the tenant's responsibility. Sometimes the landlord has them in the house and then the landlord has to take care of them.
STOVE
The stove is the landlord's responsibility. The landlord cannot rent you an apartment with no stove.
STAIRS
The stairs are the landlord's responsibility. He or she must put enough lights on the stairs and fix them if they are dangerous. If someone falls and gets hurt because the stairs are dangerous, the landlord must pay for it.
GARBAGE
The landlord has to give you garbage cans to put outside. You must have enough cans to put all the garbage from the kitchen in the garbage cans and put them outside for the city garbage truck. Putting them outside every week is the tenant's responsibility. And you need to get trash cans for the other rooms.
See CLEANING.
YARD, TREES
If there is something dangerous in the yard, it is the landlord's responsibility. Other work in the yard is the tenant's responsibility.
See SNOW.
LOCKS
Locks on the doors and windows are the landlord's responsibility. A deadbolt lock will help keep your house safe.
See EXITS.
EXITS
Exits are doors to get out of the house. Sometimes windows are exits to get out of the house too, if there is a fire. A fire escape is an exit too. The landlord must make sure there are two exits for every apartment.
ELECTRICITY
Electricity in the house is the landlord's responsibility. The landlord cannot rent you an apartment with no electricity.
HEAT
Heat is the landlord's responsibility. The landlord cannot rent you an apartment with no heat. Sometimes you pay and sometimes the landlord pays for gas or oil. But the landlord must fix the heat if it's broken.
MICE, RATS
Mice and rats are the landlord's responsibility. He or she must pay to put poison in your house to kill the rats or mice.
COCKROACHES
Cockroaches (roaches) are the landlord's responsibility. He or she must pay to put poison in your house to kill the cockroaches (if that is what you want).
CLEANING
Cleaning is the tenant's responsibility. You have to clean your house. If you move but you do not clean the house, the landlord will not give you your security deposit (the money you paid when you moved in to your house).
FANS
Fans are the tenant's responsibility. If there is a ceiling fan in the house already, the landlord must fix it.
SNOW
Shoveling snow is the landlord's responsibility. If someone has an accident because the landlord did not clean the snow from the walks, the landlord has to pay.
TELEPHONE
The tenant has to get a telephone and pay the telephone company every month. The landlord does not care about that.
| LANDLORD'S RESPONSIBILITIES |
TENANT'S RESPONSIBILITIES |
|---|---|
| toilet | refrigerator |
| garbage cans | garbage |
| washing machine | sofa |
| electricity | telephone |
| cockroaches | cleaning |
| sink (hot water) | beds |
| paint | television |
| stove | fans |
| mice, rats | |
| exits | |
| windows | |
| shower, bathtub | |
| stairs | |
| smoke alarms | |
| yard, trees | |
| lead | |
| snow | |
| roof | |
| locks | |
| heat |
CREDITS
The color pictures are from Corel Draw Software. Some of the other pictures and the lesson design are by Rebecca Pomerantz.
Most of the pictures are from Joann Wheeler's excellent survival ESL book for beginners: Making It, American English Publications, 1986. Used with permission.
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DISCLAIMER
This information is simplified and should be used as a guideline only. Laws may change or I may be wrong. You should not count on any of this as legal advice or substitute this information for advice from a lawyer. Talk to a lawyer or legal services before you consider any legal action.
