{"id":410,"date":"2019-11-06T15:29:48","date_gmt":"2019-11-06T15:29:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/7517085416"},"modified":"2026-04-28T22:13:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T14:13:32","slug":"what-you-can-and-cannot-do-as-tenants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/what-you-can-and-cannot-do-as-tenants\/","title":{"rendered":"What You Can and Cannot Do As Tenants"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What You Can and Cannot Do As Tenants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Can you remember the first time you started renting a home? Wasn\u2019t it complicated? No one has a template for you to follow, or a list to refer to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We&#8217;ve compiled a list of questions and answers for you tenants out there to resolve this. Or in simpler terms, the do&#8217;s and don&#8217;t&#8217;s of tenants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Can Tenants Change the Locks?<\/li><li>2. Can a Tenant Stop Paying Rent if Their Landlords have not met Their End of the Bargain?<\/li><li>Can Tenants End the Tenancy Early?<\/li><li>Can a Tenant Sue Another Tenant?<\/li><li> Can a Tenant Evict a Subtenant?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1-can-tenants-change-the-locks\">Can Tenants Change the Locks?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"538\" src=\"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-35-1-1024x538.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-40354\" srcset=\"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-35-1-1024x538.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-35-1-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-35-1-768x403.jpg 768w, https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-35-1-390x205.jpg 390w, https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-35-1.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A tenant needs to keep in mind that even though they are renting the space, they need to still notify their landlord accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your landlord may feel cheated or annoyed that you have changed the locks without their knowledge. If you need to change the locks due to safety, remember to let your landlord know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Always keep in mind your landlord&#8217;s point of view before changing. Anyone would panic if they couldn\u2019t open their doors. So, make sure to be courteous when changing locks as it could affect how your landlord treats you in the long run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-2-can-a-tenant-stop-paying-rent-if-their-landlords-have-not-met-their-end-of-the-bargain\">Can a Tenant Stop Paying Rent if Their Landlords have not met Their End of the Bargain?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"538\" src=\"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-36-1-1024x538.jpg\" alt=\"2. Can a Tenant Stop Paying Rent if Their Landlords have not met Their End of the Bargain? Can a Tenant Deduct Rent?\" class=\"wp-image-40355\" srcset=\"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-36-1-1024x538.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-36-1-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-36-1-768x403.jpg 768w, https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-36-1-390x205.jpg 390w, https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-36-1.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>No. No matter what, if an occupant does not pay their rent according to the signed agreement, they will get into trouble. If your landlord has not fixed faulty items or paid the utilities, make sure both you and your landlord are aware of the status of the payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, your landlord can press charges in regards to you not paying, resulting in a messy situation. This is why tenancy agreements are important as they protect and cover the rights of both parties and serve as a reference in court if necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If both parties can come to a compromise, and it is signed or documented, it can be resolved. Otherwise, potential charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-3-can-tenants-end-the-tenancy-early\">Can Tenants End the Tenancy Early?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"538\" src=\"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-29-1024x538.jpg\" alt=\"What You Can and Cannot Do As Tenants - 3. Can Tenants End the Tenancy Early?\" class=\"wp-image-40227\" srcset=\"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-29-1024x538.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-29-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-29-768x403.jpg 768w, https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-29-390x205.jpg 390w, https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-29.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, but the deposit may not necessarily be refunded. Tenants will have to refer back to the <a href=\"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/whatre-the-key-points-of-a-tenancy-agreement\/\">tenancy agreement<\/a> if there is a clause safeguarding or about the deposit if they decide to end it early. If the agreement does not state or mention that you can refund your deposit, it will be difficult for you to ask your landlord to return it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is why the tenancy agreement is crucial when it comes to renting a home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Don\u2019t know how to craft a tenancy agreement? SPEEDHOME has a template for you that allows you to add additional clauses. More time will also be saved as it will be sent to you when it&#8217;s signed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information, click here &#8220;<a href=\"\/blog\/tenant-faq?utm_campaign= what_you_can_and_cannot_do_as_tenants&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_source=hubspot\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Read More About the Tenant FAQ here!<\/strong><\/a>&#8220;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-4-can-a-tenant-sue-another-tenant\">Can a Tenant Sue Another Tenant?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"538\" src=\"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-37-1-1024x538.jpg\" alt=\"4. Can a Tenant Sue Another Tenant?\" class=\"wp-image-40356\" srcset=\"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-37-1-1024x538.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-37-1-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-37-1-768x403.jpg 768w, https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-37-1-390x205.jpg 390w, https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-37-1.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The tenants should remember that the house does not belong to either of them. For minor disputes like someone eating your food when you labeled it, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lawnow.org\/having-problems-with-another-tenant\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">suing<\/a> them is unnecessary and the reason for suing would not be considered in court. Take a breather and discuss with them calmly the rules of the house if there are any. If there are no rules, it would be good to establish one for both parties to follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In regards to missing property or the occurrence of physical situations, tenants can take action provided that the evidence is concrete. Notify the landlord of the situation and discuss it with the landlord before confronting the other tenant. This is so that if any damages happen during the dispute, they will be handled accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">If the tenant is also your landlord i.e the master tenant<\/span>, <span style=\"color: #000000;\">you will need to check your tenancy agreement with them. This is to ensure and reconfirm that your case is clear and that you have sufficient evidence to proceed.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the contrary, if there is insufficient proof, it will be difficult for you to go on with the case. Always make sure that your facts are right and&nbsp;that you have a solid case&nbsp;before bringing a lawyer into the picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-5-can-a-tenant-evict-a-subtenant\">Can a Tenant Evict a Subtenant?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"538\" src=\"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-38-1-1024x538.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-40357\" srcset=\"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-38-1-1024x538.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-38-1-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-38-1-768x403.jpg 768w, https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-38-1-390x205.jpg 390w, https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-38-1.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>No, unless the agreement to rent is between the tenant and subtenant. For example, the subtenant is renting through the landlord and the agreement is between the two. The tenant cannot be evicted by the subtenant or vice-versa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It depends on who the subtenant had a signed agreement. If the tenant cannot handle the living situation with the subtenant, the tenant will need to bring it up with the landlord. Evicting them without the landlord\u2019s knowledge will create friction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Be respectful and let your landlord know the reasons you are requesting the subtenant&#8217;s leave. Your landlord will deal with the subtenant if your reasons are sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/learn\/tenant-faq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Read More About the Tenant FAQ here!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<div style=\"gap: 20px;\" class=\"align-button-center ub-buttons orientation-button-row ub-flex-wrap wp-block-ub-button\" id=\"ub-button-4b5618fb-e00b-48a7-99e0-aa1b1c6bf4e2\"><div class=\"ub-button-container\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"ub-button-block-main   ub-button-flex\" role=\"button\" style=\"--ub-button-background-color: #fcb900; --ub-button-color: #ffffff; --ub-button-border: none; --ub-button-hover-background-color: #313131; --ub-button-hover-color: #ffffff; --ub-button-hover-border: none; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 10px; border-radius: 10px; \">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"ub-button-content-holder\" style=\"flex-direction: row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"ub-button-block-btn\"><strong>Search your dream home at SPEEDHOME Now!<\/strong><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Related guides<\/h2>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/your-rights-tenant-malaysia\/\">tenant rights in Malaysia<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/when-the-landlord-decides-to-sell-the-rental-property\/\">Landlord is Selling The House I Rent!<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/5-stages-of-the-tenant-move-out-process\/\">5 Stages of the Tenant Move-Out Process<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n<p>   <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What You Can and Cannot Do As Tenants. Can you remember the first time you started renting a home? Wasn\u2019t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[55],"class_list":["post-410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-for-tenants","tag-tenant-guide"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Orange-And-Purple-Illustration-Online-Survey-Site-Facebook-Post-34-1.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"SPEEDHOME Editorial Team","author_link":"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/author\/speedhome-editorial\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53198,"href":"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410\/revisions\/53198"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/speedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}