How to deal with bad tenants
Landlords | Information for Landlords | 16/05/18
Renting out your property can prove to be a very rewarding process as you are able to make additional income from an available space without causing you to have to perform heavy workloads, just a good use of management and respect. With that also comes good understanding and being aware of what sort of tenancy you want to establish, clearly setting out the rules needed for the tenancy to run smoothly. This can often be disrupted by many factors, such as your tenant not complying with the so called agreed rules set. So yes this blog is all about those bad tenants some of you are going to encounter and need to be prepared for. Remember the landlords responsible for the property, so they are in charge.
The sacred tenancy agreement
Having a well crafted tenancy agreement is vital, as this will play as your go to reference. This will contain all the information towards the rental stating clearly the requirements/rules needed for the tenancy to run easily. It also gives both the landlord and especially the tenant a good perspective of where things stand. For example knowing how to set out a potential inventory for all contents within the property incase of any future damages made by the tenant. With that you have the right to ask for a deposit, which will cover any future damages made by the tenant. Another example could be on how payments need to be made for rent and the ultimate question of when rent is due, now isn't that a lovely subject. As the landlord is responsible for the property so all aspects within a tenancy agreement must be attended to by them.
You could start with a short tenancy agreement to see how the individual is within the property. This can help a landlord see what it’s like to live with the tenant and if they follow the rules and proceedings of the tenancy agreement.
Selecting the perfect person for the role
This clearly sounds like the most straight forward part of the process but it’s the most vital aspect when coming to find a good tenant and it’s what separates the good from the bad. This step needs to be done with good patience and planning, as you should not look to rush into it by just acquiring any tenant. You need to filter out the potential bad points and secure the good points as you want your payments to come in on time right?
Don’t just accept your first offer – have a good look around
So you’re asking how does one do this ? Simple, you need to start drafting questions you’d want answered or if you require some documents which will support as additional evidence. Here are some examples :
•Why are you in need of this property ?
•What is your employment status ?
•When are you looking to move in ?
•How many people will be living here ?
•Employer/previous landlord references
If someone isn’t even able to meet/answer a fraction of these aspects then it’s a clear indication that the person shows key characteristics of a bad tenant, but don’t be too judgemental as everyone's situations different, so a sign of respect from your behalf would be a good thing to show.
Landlords cannot discriminate against potential tenants on grounds of sexual orientation, family status,religion,age, disability, , gender, race or class or civil status
Knowing your rights
As the landlord is responsible for the property it’s best that you have an understanding towards your rights when coming to offering a property space for rent. Having an understanding on your rights will allow you to cover yourself incase your tenant deides to act up and wants to be a bad tenant, so here are some things as a landlord you have a right towards :
•Obtaining the rent on the agreed payment date
•Ending the tenancy agreement, whithin 6 months without giving a reason
•Knowing who will be living in the property (excluding overnight guests or short stays)
•To knowing about any damages
•Entering the property for any needed repairs
•Deciding/confirming if the tenant wishes to sublet (private rentals)
You are not allowed to :
•Gain access to your tenants home without permission
•Retain your tenant’s property
•Charging more than the market rate for the property
When you’ve had enough
After putting up a lot with your bad tenant. After continuously giving them that second chance. After trying to understand. After long enough time after time, it’s only human for you to get fed up and maybe need to think about evicting the tenant. With looking at a potential eviction you can put this into three main stages :
1-Within your tenancy agreement, it should specify a period for where a notice period can be provided to your tenants to vacate the property.
2-If the tenants decide to remain within the property at the end of the notice period. This will then ,mean you can apply to the courts for a possession order.
3-After getting your possession order granted and the tenant does not want to comply, you can then gain an eviction notice from your local authorities. They will then arrange for bailiffs to be sent to the property.
When going about this situation it’s really important that you’re careful as the slightest mistake in this could cost you huge fortune. As the landlord is responsible for the property, you make sure you seek good legal advice from your local authorities.
Being able to be aware of how to avoid bad tenants can help you set a good tenancy agreement which will improve your ability in organising and managing your property. Knowing that the landlord is responsible for the property, they are required to have a good idea towards how things should be operated when looking at how to deal with a bad tenant.
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