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Landlord Tenant Responsibilities

Chapter 13 of the Ames Municipal Code, Rental Housing, sets minimum standards for safe, healthy and suitable housing. It places the following responsibilities on landlords and tenants for maintaining these minimum standards. State Law (Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Law) also governs landlords/tenants.

Please be aware of the zoning code, this code relates to over-occupancy. More information can be found in Chapter 13 of the Municipal Code and here. More information is available on the City of Ames Inspections website.

Landlord’s Responsibilities Tenant’s Responsibilities

Supply a refrigerator and range to each dwelling unit.

Inform the tenant of who to contact in case of emergency.

Maintain the public areas of the premises in a clean, sanitary, and safe condition; free from garbage, rubbish and stagnant water.

Exterminate rodents, insects and pests resulting from the landlord’s failure to maintain rodent and pest-proof conditions, when more than one unit, or public areas, are affected.

Provide the required smoke detectors and fire extinguishers in good working condition.

Supply properly sized fuses, or their equivalent, at the beginning of the tenancy.

Supply each window intended for ventilation with screens and install the screens each spring.

Supply and install storm doors and windows at the beginning of the cold weather season.

Supply heat (68°) from September 15 to June 15 of each year, when landlord controls the heat.

Remove snow and ice from walks and drives.

Maintain the premises in neat condition by mowing lawns, controlling weeds, and trimming trees and shrubs.

Provide garbage/rubbish removal and proper receptacles for doing so.

Notify the landlord, preferably in writing, of maintenance needed.

Keep all equipment and fixtures in the unit, in clean and sanitary condition, and take reasonable care when using them.

Not store hazardous materials, including gas mowers, vehicles or other combustibles.

Dispose of hazardous materials, chemicals and combustibles safely.

Supply the windows of living areas, sleeping areas, and some bathrooms with curtains, shades or other privacy devices.

Maintain the supplied smoke detectors and fire extinguishers.

Use proper sized light bulbs in the supplied light fixtures

Replace fuses or their equivalent with ones of proper size, as needed.

Dispose of garbage and rubbish in a sanitary manner by using the supplied containers and closing them properly after use.

Exterminate any rodents, insects or pests resulting from own activities (not the result of landlord’s failure to maintain pest-proof conditions, nor activities of occupants in another dwelling unit.

Maintain that part of the dwelling and premises occupied solely by the tenant in a clean, safe and sanitary condition.

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