Apartment Trends Magazine July 2014 | Page 25

ASK THE LAWYER PHIL KLASS | KLASS LAW GROUP Work for Rent? Just Say “No” I get the question from time to time about tenants offering to do work (electrical, plumbing, roofing, etc) in exchange for free or reduced rent. Usually, it’s asked from small landlords who don’t want to be bothered spending the time and money to hire outside professional contractors and don’t want to have to do the work themselves. I always answer the question the same way: Don’t Do It! When these arrangements are entered into, it is often a verbal agreement and it is rarely made clear exactly what work is to be done, when the work is to be completed, how the quality of the work is to be judged, who is going to pay for the materials, how much rent credit will be earned, what the legal relationship between the landlord and the tenant will be, whether and how the tenant/worker will be insured, whether and how the tenant’s income will be reported, whose tools will be used, who else may participate in getting the work done, and what happens if a dispute arises. Colorado law provides that the landlord is generally responsible for maintenance of the rental residence and discourages efforts to try to transfer maintenance obligations to the tenant. In order to make the tenant responsible for