Tenants are the lifeblood of a landlord. Their rent payments keep us up and running. Tenants, being human however always bring some drama along with them. Many times they want to involve you, the landlord, in that drama.
Sometimes it is just petty BS.
“My roommate is driving me crazy and she needs to move out! Make here leave.”
“My roommate did not pay me for this month’s rent so I only have half of the rent.”
Other times it is more serious.
“We are getting a divorce.”
“I lost my job.”
You will get all kinds in this business. I have had roommates stealing from each other, fall off the wagon, stop taking their meds and start screaming in the middle of the night. Every year brings a new experience.
You as a landlord need to protect yourself, your property and other tenants from the tenant drama.
Let’s tackle the petty BS first.
First of all, we are clear at move-in, we do not do tenant drama and we do not resolve disputes between roommates. Renting an apartment is an adult experience and we expect our tenants to act and resolve disputes like adults.
Secondly, you need is a strong lease. Be sure that every adult living in the property is a signatory on your lease. Our lease states that each tenant/roommate is “jointly and severally liable” for the payment of rent. So if one does not pay, the other tenants are each individually liable for the non-payment and we can evict them all. We also require that we receive only one check or money order for the rent, no matter how many roommates. You do not want to be chasing down roommates for their share of the rent. These tips will protect you and give you an out to point towards when dealing with the drama.
When tenants try and drag you into the drama, you need to be cool, collected and firm. Remember, you do not do tenant drama. Listen to your tenants, always be polite and remind that they are adults and they need to work out their problems as adults.
Then there are the more serious matters. You need to have policies in place to deal with these events.
When someone gets a divorce or loses a job, no matter what your lease says, things are going to change. Your job now is to manage that change as best as you can. These more serious matters are going to generally require someone to move and many times the breaking of a lease.
Tenants may try to hide things as long as they can, since “denial” is not just a river in Egypt. Eventually however the problems will surface and you need to be proactive. Talk to your tenant as soon as you suspect a problem. Again be firm but polite and listen to the problem.
If there is a divorce and someone needs to move, let them move. Have policies in place that state the consequences for breaking the lease. For example we may keep all or a portion of the security deposit depending on the circumstances. We require a release fee of extra month’s rent if they break the lease. You just need to say that you understand their problem however our policy is x y and z. Most people will understand.
When a tenant has lost their job it can be a really serious blow and you have two options; evict them or work with them to move them out asap. Again be firm but fair. State that you understand their problem but that they can’t stay without paying and that they will need to find other accommodations soon.
Set a date for them to move out and be sure to stick to it. You may actually need to help them move along with gentle reminders or you may even want to provide them some funds to move or give their security deposit back upon move out even if the have to break the lease. You job here is not to stick it to someone who is down, your job is to get your property back in as close to a rent ready state as is possible. One of your biggest expenses as a landlord can be eviction and the subsequent clean up and repairs. We try to avoid that at all costs. You are not going to get blood from a stone at this point, so cut your losses, help the tenant transition out and get your property back so you can re-rent it.
What about the tenant that stops taking their meds and starts screaming in the middle of the night? When these types of situations arise you need to be careful. You can try talking to the tenant, but they may not be helpful or may be embarrassed, etc. In this case you may need to call their emergency contacts for help.
Your rental application should have a section for emergency contacts. Be sure that you ask the relationship of the emergency contact to the tenant on the application. Many times the tenant will put a family member, such as mom or brother, on the application. These types of situations may be ones where you get in touch with the emergency contacts to discuss your concerns. Be careful of your tenant’s privacy rights here. You may just want to let them know that it may be time to check in on their family member. We have had success using this approach in the past.
As a final note, be sure to check with your own state laws. If you become aware of drug dealing, spousal or child abuse and do nothing, you may become liable. So be careful here and take action if necessary. You can find out about your local laws at your local REIA.
In sum, expect a lot of tenant drama. Be ready for it with a solid lease, a good application form and firm but fair policies that you discuss with your tenants at move-in. You can’t predict or be ready for all the drama (we change our house rules every year based on the drama we experience), but you can sure save yourself a lot of aggravation, headache and drama.
