{"id":19191,"date":"2026-05-18T04:02:06","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T11:02:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=19191"},"modified":"2026-05-18T19:59:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T02:59:23","slug":"buyer-rent-to-own-homes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-rent-to-own-homes\/","title":{"rendered":"Rent-to-Own Home Maintenance: Who Does What, and Who Pays for It?"},"content":{"rendered":"

For a lot of renters, the path to homeownership doesn\u2019t always go the way they hoped. Maybe home prices increased<\/a> faster than their savings, or getting approved for a mortgage<\/a> turned out to be harder than expected, which is why rent-to-own<\/a> homes can start to sound like a practical middle ground.<\/p>\n

But once the idea of eventually owning the rental feels real, another question usually comes up: who handles repairs when the AC breaks or the roof leaks? That\u2019s where understanding rent-to-own homes maintenance becomes important, because the answer isn\u2019t always as straightforward as people expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n \"homelight\n <\/div>\n \n

Work With a Top Agent to Find a Rent-to-Own Home<\/h3>\n

When considering a rent-to-own home, working with a real estate agent experienced in these types of deals can help you navigate the process and find a great deal.<\/p>\n \n

\n Find Agent<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/div>\n

Why do buyers need to worry about problems in rent-to-own homes?<\/h2>\n

Well, that\u2019s a pretty simple question to answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest reason why buyers have to worry about rent-to-own home condition is that [the] home will be theirs, officially, once they own it,\u201d says top-selling Florida-based agent<\/a> Kathy Aparo-Griffin<\/a>. \u201cSo they’re going to have to deal with these issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

The specifics of that rent-to-own arrangement \u201call depend [on] how the agreement is written,\u201d Aparo-Griffin explains. One common (but not always standard) inclusion in a rent-to-own contract is asking the buyer to handle any repairs needed while they occupy the house.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rent-to-own homes maintenance: Are you responsible for costly fixes? Learn the rules before you sign and avoid surprises.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":150,"featured_media":19194,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[192,636,629],"tags":[800],"class_list":["post-19191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-for-buyers","category-rent-own","category-home-financing","tag-how-does-rent-to-own-work"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRent to Own Homes: Essential Maintenance Questions Buyers Should Ask<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Rent-to-own homes maintenance: Are you responsible for costly fixes? Learn the rules before you sign and avoid surprises.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-rent-to-own-homes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rent-to-Own Home Maintenance: Who Does What, and Who Pays for It?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rent-to-own homes maintenance: Are you responsible for costly fixes? Learn the rules before you sign and avoid surprises.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-rent-to-own-homes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"HomeLight Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-18T11:02:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-19T02:59:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/rent-to-own-homes-head.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alesandra Dubin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@alicedubin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@gohomelight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alesandra Dubin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Rent to Own Homes: Essential Maintenance Questions Buyers Should Ask","description":"Rent-to-own homes maintenance: Are you responsible for costly fixes? Learn the rules before you sign and avoid surprises.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-rent-to-own-homes\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Rent-to-Own Home Maintenance: Who Does What, and Who Pays for It?","og_description":"Rent-to-own homes maintenance: Are you responsible for costly fixes? Learn the rules before you sign and avoid surprises.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-rent-to-own-homes\/","og_site_name":"HomeLight Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/","article_published_time":"2026-05-18T11:02:06+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-05-19T02:59:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1500,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/rent-to-own-homes-head.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Alesandra Dubin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@alicedubin","twitter_site":"@gohomelight","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Alesandra Dubin","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":["Article","BlogPosting"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-rent-to-own-homes\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-rent-to-own-homes\/"},"author":{"name":"Alesandra Dubin","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/3c20bb23677b94b2e40ed5ea1d6f7986"},"headline":"Rent-to-Own Home Maintenance: Who Does What, and Who Pays for It?","datePublished":"2026-05-18T11:02:06+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-19T02:59:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-rent-to-own-homes\/"},"wordCount":228,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-rent-to-own-homes\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/rent-to-own-homes-head.png","keywords":["How does rent to own work?"],"articleSection":["Buyers","Explore rent to own","Financing"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-rent-to-own-homes\/","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-rent-to-own-homes\/","name":"Rent to Own Homes: Essential Maintenance Questions Buyers Should Ask","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-rent-to-own-homes\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-rent-to-own-homes\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/rent-to-own-homes-head.png","datePublished":"2026-05-18T11:02:06+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-19T02:59:23+00:00","description":"Rent-to-own homes maintenance: Are you responsible for costly fixes? Learn the rules before you sign and avoid surprises.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-rent-to-own-homes\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-rent-to-own-homes\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-rent-to-own-homes\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/rent-to-own-homes-head.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/rent-to-own-homes-head.png","width":1500,"height":800,"caption":"Source: (Curtis Adams \/ Pexels)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-rent-to-own-homes\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Rent-to-Own Home Maintenance: Who Does What, and Who Pays for It?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/","name":"HomeLight Blog","description":"Real Estate Advice from America's Top Agents","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"HomeLight","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/logo-hr-color.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/logo-hr-color.png","width":1348,"height":262,"caption":"HomeLight"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/","https:\/\/x.com\/gohomelight","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/homelight\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCimugR9XF17-OZ7B9fNnxWw","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/HomeLight"],"description":"Everything you need to know to sell your house faster and for more money. Articles, guides, and advice from top agents all over the U.S.","email":"support@homelight.com","telephone":"(888) 688-0350","legalName":"HomeLight","foundingDate":"2012-01-01","numberOfEmployees":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","minValue":"201","maxValue":"500"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/3c20bb23677b94b2e40ed5ea1d6f7986","name":"Alesandra Dubin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/144bf36599586a2572ba5dfb9014afadb72e436d03418bc11c2fcb5636070054?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/144bf36599586a2572ba5dfb9014afadb72e436d03418bc11c2fcb5636070054?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Alesandra Dubin"},"description":"Alesandra Dubin is a lifestyle journalist and content marketing writer based in Los Angeles. Her vertical specialties include real estate; travel; health and wellness; meetings and events; and parenting. Her work has appeared in Business Insider, Good Housekeeping, TODAY, E!, Parents, and countless other outlets. She holds a master's degree in journalism from NYU.","sameAs":["https:\/\/alicedubin.com\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/alicedubin\/","https:\/\/x.com\/alicedubin"],"url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/author\/alesandra-dubin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/150"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19191\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}