Despite all your careful screening, and work done to make sure you weeded out any potentially difficult tenants we are all bound to eventually encounter a less than perfect tenant. You know the one who pays the rent late, keeps you and your neighbors awake with loud parties or a constant stream of visitors, or brings in a dog without your permission. I want to share with you the 6 Common ways Tenants are difficult for landlords and potential ways to resolve each issue.
What can you expect from difficult Tenants?
The most common problems for landlords to deal with fall into a few broad categories. I will discuss these categories below and offer some tips on how to handle them.
Tenants commonly are late with rent
While a tenant may be late with the rent on occasion, it is always a good practice to enforce on-time payments as this is one of the most common things tenants can take advantage of. By enforcing on-time payments it will help show that you’re serious about this business relationship and avoid reinforcing late payment habits.
If a tenant’s rent payments are consistently late, you should talk to the tenant about it and give them an opportunity to explain. If they do not pay, send a written “pay or quit” notice stating that the tenant must either pay their rent in full or vacate the premises by the end of the notice period.
Tenants will break their lease early
Depending how you included lease obligations in the rental agreement, tenants are responsible for the entire remaining term of the lease or maybe only a partial amount. Life circumstances may change, and tenants often request to break a lease before the end of the term.
What can you do to remedy this situation? As a landlord, the most straightforward course of action may be to have a conversation with your tenant about why he or she wants to break the lease. Together you may be able to come up with a solution that addresses both parties’ needs. If there is something you can do to accommodate your tenant’s situation, it is probably in your best interest to do so.
However, some tenants leave for personal reasons that cannot be resolved. In these situations, the tenant may still be responsible for the balance on the lease until another renter is moved in. You should take appropriate steps to re-rent the unit as soon as possible.
Tenants violate sections of the lease or rental agreements
Even tenants who pay their rent on time sometimes violate important terms of the lease or rental agreement. Below are some examples of such violations, along with what steps you should take before terminating the agreement.
The Tenant Moves in a pet
If your agreement specifically prohibits pets or limits the number of pets allowed on the property, but then one moves in anyway, you must decide whether or not you want to allow it. If your tenant is reliable and well-behaved with the pet, allowing it may be in your best interest. You should amend your rental agreement to reflect this change.
The Tenant Moves in other occupants
If a tenant is allowing a new boyfriend or girlfriend to live in your property, or if a job-hunting friend of the tenant is staying at the property without your consent and contrary to the lease agreement, this should be addressed immediately. If you are inclined to allow a new occupant to stay in your property, you should go through all the typical tenant screening steps as a precaution.
They Illegally sublease the property
Tenants sometimes move other people in without the landlord’s consent, either permanently or temporarily. This can be a surprise if you suddenly see a name other than your tenant’s on the rent checks. But if you’re willing to allow this arrangement, be sure to do a careful screening just as if you were examining a new potential renter.
You will need to terminate the original lease agreement and write a new revised agreement, which will include the additional tenants. However, If you do not want one or more of the proposed subtenants living in your home, then you are able to refuse your consent for them to reside there.
The Tenants have excessive noise complaints
Although most of your tenants will be considerate of the noise they make, there may be times when your tenants have loud parties, blare music at odd hours of the night or engage in other noisy activities. If this is the case, you will want to act immediately to understand the situation and resolve it.
When you confront your tenant about excessive noise, it may be useful to point out any clauses in your lease or rental agreement that prohibit excessive noise. If such a clause does not exist in the written agreement, you can still talk to the tenant if you hear complaints. This should be followed up with a warning letter if there is no improvement.
Tenants might end up having past criminal convictions
Landlords are generally free to reject tenants with criminal records, but they may only find out about those convictions after they have rented the unit. At that point, their first impulse might be to look for a way to get the tenant out of their building if the conviction is for a recent, violent crime. If you have a month-to-month tenant, the process of ending their tenancy will be much quicker and easier. You should give them the required amount of notice that is outlined in their rental agreement.
If your tenant has a lease however, and the tenant is not committing any crimes, you will not be able to terminate their agreement just because you know about their criminal record. For cases like these it’s prudent to add statements in the rental agreement that will allow for termination if false or incomplete information is provided.
Tenants may fail to uphold their basic legal responsibilities
Most states allow landlords to evict tenants who violate their responsibilities as outlined by law. Violations that fall under this category may include, but are not limited to, unsanitary conditions caused by the tenant’s failure to properly clean a rental unit and keep it free of garbage; misuse of appliances; and substantial property damage.
A landlord’s rental agreement should include an obligation to keep the property livable, but even if it does not, tenants are still legally bound to observe this standard. If a tenant or their guests damage the premises and do not correct the problem after being notified by the landlord, law does not require a second opportunity for this serious misbehavior, and typically requires that they move out from the property within a shorter amount of time.
Tenants may perform in illegal activity on the premises
In recent years, many states have enacted laws making it easier for landlords to evict tenants suspected of dealing drugs or engaging in other illegal activities on the property. In some cases, landlords do not have to wait until tenants are convicted of a crime formally; they may be able to evict solely on fact-based suspicion that there is illegal activity going on.
Evictions that occur as a result of criminal activity are referred to as “expedited evictions” because they take less time than normal evictions. These evictions begin with an unconditional quit notice, which gives tenants only a few days to vacate the premises.
Some final thoughts on difficult tenants
Although it is always important to be selective about who you rent your properties to, you shouldn’t ignore all the great people who may not appear at first glance to be perfect tenants. If you are lucky enough to have a tenant that pays their rent on time and keeps the property in good shape while they live there you should appreciate them and not worry so much about the things they do that don’t necessarily bother you. Based on what we covered you should now be able to be ready for that difficult tenant’s issues when you do end up having one. Respond appropriately and don’t let them create too much havoc on your life!
