Take Care of Where You Live

Whether you own or rent, the way your home looks reflects on you.  People driving by don't know who owns the place or even who lives there; they only know whether it looks good or not.  It's so easy for a renter to blame the landlord rather than take personal responsibility for where they live.  As a life-long renter, I can tell horror stories about some of  landlords and fellow tenants that I've had the "pleasure" of dealing with.  Landlords come in all forms, just like tenants do.
 
Tenants will complain about their overgrown yards and the trash in front of their house yet they won't clean it up.  Why?  Sadly, they assume that the upkeep of a property is solely the responsibilty of the landlord.  They don't understand stewardship.  When a property owner gives someone the priviledge of residing in one of their apartments, they are also making that person a steward of the property.  A good steward will mow the lawn.  A good steward will sweep the sidewalk.  A good steward will have the broken window replaced when the landlord can't or won't.  A good steward will get a trash can if the landlord doesn't supply one.  A good steward will paint their apartment when it needs it.  

I can hear it already, it's not a tenants responsibility to fix what's broken.  I tell you, it is!  If a tenant has reached out to their landlord with an issue and the landlord doesn't respond, it is the tenants right and responsibility to get the situation resolved.  It's part of the tenant's stewardship.  A good steward will have the issue addressed and a smart steward will deduct those expenses from their rental payment and provide the landlord with the receipts.  Think of it this way: As a tenant, you chose to live there.  You chose to call this place your home.  Act like it is.