Landlords experience difficulty in handling tenants at some point in their lives. Some tenants don’t pay the rent on time, others show carelessness while living in the property, and some others spread noise. These are the few reasons landlords find it stressful to do their job.
Despite listing all the rules and regulations, landlords can face challenges in handling the issues of the tenants. So, what to do? Here we have come up with seven tips for landlords to handle difficult situations. Let’s get started.
Avoid conflict with a well-written lease – The first best way to avoid conflicts is to have a clear written lease agreement that addresses all the issues and potential problems. List out each and every problem and how it can be solved in detail. For instance – What will be considered a default in a lease? What will you do to rectify those defaults, including eviction, lawyer’s fees, recovery of damages, and any other costs associated with the lease enforcement?
Prepare the lease documents in a way to make it hard for the tenants to start a dispute over a justified eviction. Also, do a careful vet of the prospective tenants. You must ask them for their detailed financial statements to ensure that the tenants are trustworthy and solvent.
Get everything in writing – A strong lease is the one that comes to your rescue the moment you find yourself in a situation of conflict. What else should you include in the writing? Just everything. Make a separate file for each tenant. Include the things like written and dated records of all the conversations and interactions. It will help you sail through difficult situations easily.
In case there is a difference of opinion about previous communications, you can always get back to your notes and find out where the mistake is. While doing this, you can use your mobile’s camera if you think that referring to photos or videos of the tenant’s space can prove helpful to you.
Use property management software for seamless work – Using property management software makes it extremely easy for landlords to not incur the difficult situation at the first place. It makes the communication between landlords and tenants very simple.
It automates the rent collection process, and you don’t have to run behind your tenants to collect the rent. Just fill out all the details of your tenants and rent collection date on the property management software, and you are good to go. Creating banking accounts for landlords in such software makes things as seamless as ever before when it comes to handling the property. Tenants can also submit their maintenance requests online. All in all, landlords can handle difficult situations easily by using property management software.
Make them clear about the way of treating you – The tenant-landlord relationship is not much different from other ones. Your actions should clearly define what you want from the relationship. Otherwise, your tenants might take advantage of you. For instance – If your tenant doesn’t pay the rent on time and you don’t immediately enforce the terms of the lease on them, they will begin to think that they can escape the situation. But you need to stand firmly to your rules to keep yourself away from the hassles.
If you still can’t get the results after taking the action, keep following up with them. It will give the tenants the signals that you can’t let go of the issues easily, and they need to resolve it as quickly as possible to avoid the negative consequences.
Act immediately on the noise complaints received – You are the landlord of an area. It is important that the area or building maintains a good reputation. The residents or tenants living there should have a positive relationship. So if someone brings noise complaints to you, sympathize with them. Assure them that you will take the needed steps.
Sometimes individuals speak to the perpetrator first and then report to the landlord. Find out if this is the case. Further, check with the other neighbors whether the complaint is true or not. It will give you a clear idea of how to handle the situation.
Ask the “Perpetrator” or noisy party to make the changes – Things become all the more easy if you have a noise clause in your rental housing agreement. It becomes an important document to remind them that they are breaching the contract.
Let them know that if things continue like this, you have the right to ask them to eliminate the source of noise from the rental property. Don’t forget to speak politely to them and also give them the opportunity to present their side of the case too. After all, you never know there may be another side of the story.
Keep it confidential – It’s purely about the business. Keep the issues between you and the tenants only. Don’t drag other people to it, like talking to your neighbors or other tenants about it. Keeping things confidential is a sign of a good landlord. Don’t break confidentiality unless the problem worsens, and you have to take the matter to the authorities.
Takeaway
No wonder having a property business comes with loads of profits. However, it often comes with tenant issues. Thus, keep the above-mentioned points in mind to deal with the difficult tenants, and you will definitely sail through it smoothly.
