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If two families live in a home, whose responsibility is it to mow the lawn, clean the gutters, and otherwise keep the home well maintained? If you live on the property with your tenant, minimize the chance of conflict by making all of that your responsibility.

But what if you don’t live on the property? What if you own an investment property that is rented to two or more families, several of whom live in secondary suites? This is where it gets complicated. None of the tenants have unrestricted exclusive access to the property and you cannot say that one tenant is responsible for property maintenance and the others are not unless it is agreed to in the rental agreement. (Most tenants won’t agree to mow the lawn for free.)

You could delegate these responsibilities to one of the tenants in return for a rent reduction. Have the tenant pay you the full rent each month, but give the tenant a cheque each month after he or she successfully attends to the duties. However, this could get messy. What if the lawn is mowed too infrequently? Resentment and animosity will build if you withhold payment. What if the tenant is injured while working on your property? Is the tenant legally considered your employee? Are you insured for such a liability?

The best advice I can give you is to contract these jobs out to others — hire someone other than your tenant to mow the lawn, clean the gutters, etc. Consider it a cost of doing business, one that is tax deductible.