With over a third of all occupied households rented out, many renters are becoming more savvy to landlords who let things slide. You need to stay on top of the boundaries you set in rental lease agreements, or your tenants will start to take the rental for granted. So, how should you enforce any agreement clauses in a way that is both fair and just for all involved?
Below, we discuss several steps you can take to ensure any issues settle in a fast and simple manner. Use these as a checklist to make sure you act consistently throughout any enforcement.
Have a Clear Rental Agreement
The first thing you want to do to ensure you can enforce a rental agreement is to check the one you have has clearly-written clauses. It should cover all aspects of renting a property, including:
- Payments
- Obligations of both parties
- Maintenance schedules
- Consequences of agreement violation
If you do not know the best way to make a rental agreement, you could always contact your property management company to draft one for you.
Screen Your Tenants
To ensure you have positive tenant interactions, it may benefit you to screen each one before they move in. Perform background and credit checks, and ensure they have secure employment to make sure they can pay rent on time. This may even include an in-person interview to check the general personality and level of responsibility of the tenant.
Clear and Consistent Communication
Make sure you communicate if there is a problem. Allow for ways the tenant can contact you if they expect there is an issue, and mention problems to them as early as possible.
You might be able to avoid issues such as HOA violations or other problems by letting the tenant know there is a concern.
Send a Written Notice
If the tenant continues to ignore issues, sending a written notice acts as a recorded event should the issue continue to escalate. Make sure you write this in a professional tone, and email it if possible to ensure you have records.
Try to Mediate and Resolve Issues
If a dispute occurs, do not escalate it straight away. Try to talk to the tenant calmly and sensibly. If necessary, get a third person to mediate the discussion who you both trust, such as a person you both know.
Do Not Fear Taking Legal Action
If things do not improve, you can use all the records you have to start the process of legal action. This will usually include an eviction notice, so be prepared for the tenant to contact you when they learn of it. This should be the final step after having given the tenant reasonable chances to resolve any issue.
Let Us Deal With Rental Lease Agreements
With the above information, you should have everything you need to enforce rental lease agreements. If you still have issues, though, or find this is too much work, you should look into finding a property manager.
We provide options for landlords to offload some or all of their property portfolio to us to help them carry on with their life stress-free. So, get in contact today to learn more about what we can do for you.
