Being a landlord is a great and rewarding achievement. There’s no better feeling than having perfect tenants who pay rents on time, act responsibly, take care of your property like it was theirs, and never pose a problem.
This can be a possible reality, but it is seldom the case for most landlords. As a landlord, you can definitely have perfect tenants, and it can be great; however, the possibility for this to happen lies in the ability to properly screen your tenants and market your properties. If you’re not careful in the tenant screening process and you fail to do a thorough assessment of each tenant, the likelihood of dealing with a problematic and troublesome tenant is high.
By problematic, I’m not only referring to a tenant who defaults on rental payments; I’m equally referring to a tenant(s) who will bother you with unnecessary complaints that can drive you to the edge.
Here are some common and unnecessary complaints that drive landlords crazy
“Fix this now or else!”
Some tenants can be very annoying, and there’s no restraint in displaying their provocative and troublesome nature. A common way they portray this attitude is through complaints. Imagine going about your day, and in the course of it, your phone rings, you pick up the phone, and the first thing you hear is an irate tenant furiously complaining about a problem they’re experiencing in their house. You’d think you heard it all, but there’s more to it; their last words to you are “Fix it now!” It’ll take a landlord with a great deal of composure and professionalism to not react inappropriately in such a situation. Strangely, problematic tenants make the assumption that landlords don’t have anything else going on in their lives. They don’t have a kid’s baseball game or another job.
The mistake some tenants make is they believe that their problem needs to be fixed immediately. Granted, some issues are emergencies, but most aren’t. There’s a common mistake made by first-time landlords, and that is the rush to fix everything. Unfortunately, that shows the tenant that regardless of the problem, you’ll be there at the drop of a hat.
As a landlord, it is important to know the regulations in your area. Also, setting expectations with your tenants can help you avoid these problems.
“My neighbor has a dog who won’t stop barking.”
It’s a good thing your tenant thinks you can control anything and everything, but the reality is that you can’t. In situations like this, it is your responsibility as a landlord to educate your tenant about complaints you can address. A
lease agreement should be the first point to establish and set expectations. Complaints about neighbors aren’t your responsibility and the best course of action is to point the tenant to the proper local authority to address problems like this.
There are instances where complaints like this emanate from skirmishes between your tenants. In cases like this do not get involved, preferably let the tenant and the authorities handle the situation.
“My toilet is plugged.”
Stories abound of tenants without plungers assuming that a landlord should be the one responsible for unplugging their gross toilets. A backed-up toilet is just one of many examples. Some tenants are accustomed to making all sorts of ridiculous requests to landlords; from plugged toilets to backed-up garbage disposals.
These complaints at best should be classified as minor
maintenance. It is unbelievable to think that some tenants will do things like snapping handles off cupboard doors, blowing fuses, and authoritatively ask the landlord to come and fix them. This sort of behavior is intolerable and shouldn’t be allowed.
Most of these complaints aren’t the responsibility of the landlord, and if the landlord chooses to make repairs in such situations, the tenant should cover the cost of service and pay for the materials used for repairs.
“Something from the other apartment has a foul smell.”
Some complaints are beyond annoying, they’re ridiculous and laughable. When a person moves into a new apartment, sometimes they have a hard time adjusting. They’re not used to the environment, new neighbors, and the fact that the lives of surrounding tenants can impact them so easily.
A common complaint is one that comes from a cultural or culinary clash of the senses. Complaints like “Something from the other apartment has a foul smell”. One thing every landlord should keep in mind is that unless your tenant’s neighbor is cooking meth or doing something illegal to produce the odor, as a landlord, there’s little or nothing you can do about it.
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In fact, a landlord intervening can aggravate the problem. The most appropriate course of action would be to encourage your tenant to have a friendly talk with the other tenant and, if possible, have them work something out that will be favorable to both parties. This a people problem, and not a legal one.
“You’re violating our lease.”
As a new landlord, you might have unintentionally strayed but if you’re a seasoned landlord, you probably haven’t. If you have actually violated your lease agreement you need to apologize and correct the problem. Before you do that be certain to double-check everything before you act.
You need to be careful because tenants with bad intentions will take advantage of situations in which you’ve failed to have more negotiating power over you.
To put this in perspective, problems like this can get worse because some tenants can use it to their advantage and withhold rent on the basis that you’ve violated the lease. Fortunately for you, most tenants don’t know that there are very few instances or even none where they are allowed to withhold rent as a result of a dispute with you. As long as they’re living in the space, they are required to pay.
“We didn’t clean the stove, but I have no idea how the fire started.”
Most times, tenant neglect can cause serious damages to your property. You’ve probably heard this line from tenants “We’ve lived here for two years and we’ve never cleaned the stove, so, there’s no way the fire was our fault,”. That’s a lousy excuse and one you shouldn’t buy.
It’s important to know that tenant neglect can result in mold or infestations. These are problems that need to be addressed and the onus lies on you to prove the tenant was at fault. Dealing with tenants who fail to look after your property can be a daunting task. It can really make the extra money you earn from your property insignificant and not worth the work.
Finally, these problems can be avoided if you do not rush the tenant screening process. Due diligence, a thorough assessment, and careful scrutiny of prospective tenants will go a long way in giving you peace of mind and enabling a healthy landlord-tenant relationship.
