You try to vet your tenants so that you don’t have any issues and you get good tenants who are respectful of the space and who work with you every step of the way. But you don’t always have enough time to make sure that you’ve gotten this perfectly right, or unforeseen things could arise after someone has rented the space.
It’s important to know what types of issues these are so that you can consider possible solutions. Below are five common problems.
The rent is late
When a tenant doesn’t pay on time or doesn’t pay at all, it can be incredibly detrimental to your own finances and may even make the property unaffordable. Tenants may give excuses for this lack of payment or you may simply not hear from them on time.
They don’t pay the utilities
Many landlords will make tenants put the utilities in their own name. Not only does this keep things simple, but it also avoids problems if the tenants don’t pay the utilities. If you are paying the utilities for them and charging them or including it in the rent, you still have to keep paying those bills even when the tenants’ payments don’t come in.
They’ve done damage
Another potential issue is when the tenant damages the space. In theory, you have a security deposit to cover this damage, but it can be an issue if it’s so expensive that the deposit isn’t enough.
There are conflicts with the neighbors
Perhaps you have a tenant who plays their music too loudly or likes to have parties that last long after dark. Perhaps they never clean up outside or they tend to park their car so it blocks someone else’s driveway. There are all sorts of reasons why conflict with the neighbors can occur, and you need to know how to address them.
They sublet the apartment
In some cases, even if you told the tenant that they’re not allowed to sublet the apartment, they may try to do it anyway. This can be a serious problem because now you have someone living in your space that you didn’t vet at all and you don’t know. A similar issue is when tenants who are legally living in a house allow a friend to join them but don’t put that person on the lease.
No matter what types of issues you’re having with your tenants, make sure you understand your legal options.