My family rents our primary residence in a major city and we pay significant monthly rent, enough to cover two or three mortgage payments in a cheap juridisction. One of the key reasons I have been a long term renter is to avoid dealing with the expenses and hassles related to maintenance of a home.
In the past I have always had very good, responsive and proactive landlords who fulfill their end of the maintenance bargain.
We moved in the spring and are locked into a 2 year lease. Our new landlord has been hit hard by the pandemic, they briefly listed our property (3 proper legal rental units in a house) for sale, before withdrawing it from the market and moving their primary residence to a cheaper area about an hour away.
We have recently had some maintenance needs which they have struggled to address, one was a crucial plumbing issue which was addressed slower than necesary, and they have now flat out told us they do not have the cash to address other less critical but still pressing issues we have brought to their attention, and basically said "it'll have to wait until spring". It is clear the rental income is going towards their personal expenses, none of what is needed amounts to even 1/3rd of our monthly rent in terms of cost.
I have reviewed our tenants insurance policy but there is no mention of situations where a landlord can no longer afford maintenance of their property.
Other than holding significant cash in a savings account to cover potential expenses that could arise if the landlord is unable to address major issues, and other than legal actions against the landlord, are there any personal finance approaches we can take to hedge against the risk we suddenly find ourselves exposed to?
