All of us keep secrets. We do this for a variety of reasons. Some things should in fact be kept a secret as they are personal or you may be breaking a social norm, rule or perhaps even a law. We may also keep something secret because we feel that we will only get into more trouble by saying something, or we will be perceived as ignorant. All of this just seems to be human nature.
Tenants, being human of course, are no exception. But some of the secrets they keep are from us, their landlords. These secrets can be insignificant or quite harmful. Some secrets are a simple flaunting of the rules. But others are more serious and they can put us, our property and our other tenants at risk.
Over the past dozen years I have uncovered a lot of tenant secrets. There do however seem to be some common themes to the secrets that tenants keep from us landlords. Here are my top 6 “Tenant Secrets.”
1. My Boyfriend/Girlfriend Has Moved In – This is one of the biggest secrets tenants have and can be one of the most difficult to confirm and control. As a landlord you want everyone who is residing in your property to have gone through your screening process. Otherwise, you really have no idea who is living there. Are they a deadbeat? Do they have a criminal record? Is there something even worse they are hiding? Thing is, you just do not know.
On the flip side, how can you prove that they have actually moved in? Are you there every day to see who comes and goes? And even if you are, a significant other is likely to be around fairly often. How often is too often? Who are you to judge? But if there is evidence, such as a closet full of clothes, two cars or words from another tattle-tale tenant, you should confront your tenant.
Don’t be harsh when you do this, just ask if so and so is living there and remind them that it is a major violation of their lease to have an unauthorized roommate. Offer to get the person approved and on the lease, so there will not need to be anymore secrets. I find that most tenants prefer this option and will come in from the cold.
2. I Got a New Kitten/Puppy – We more experienced landlords have seen this again and again. We go to do a repair or an inspection and see an animal or evidence of one when none was mentioned at move in. Perhaps the pet is new. Perhaps the pet is one that you do not allow. Perhaps you do not allow pets all together. If the last statement applies to you, you must give the tenant the choice; either you or the pet goes. If you allow pets, offer again to let them come in from the cold, pay the pet fees, meet your requirements and stop keeping secrets.
3. I’m a Bit of a Slob – Sometimes this is an understatement. I have walked into some tenant’s apartments and wondered when the hurricane came through. Clothes strewn about everywhere, dishes piled up in the sink and on the counters. Frankly I can’t understand how people live like that. The problem is that it is very difficult to tell that someone is a slob on the front end. They can hide it pretty well for the interviews. It is only later when you get calls about a sudden bug or vermin problem that you find out. Needless to say “clean you place up!” letters are sent pretty quickly.
4. I Like To Party – This is one of the worst kept secrets. There is nothing wrong with a little bit of fun. Having a few beers and friends over from time to time is as American as apple pie. But too much of a good thing gets a little old. Little did you know that you rented to Mr. Popular who likes to have friends over every other evening.
Other tenants can be as quiet as a church mouse, and when you go over to repair and inspect you find out why when you notice the bong sitting out on the coffee table. I realize a lot of people smoke weed, but in most places it is still illegal, so put away the bong when you are done and be a bit more discrete with your smoking habits! And believe it or not that smoke does creep out into the hallway and you are not fooling anyone with your patchouli.
5. The ______ Is Broken – As landlords, we are responsible for maintaining the property. I actually want to fix things because my property is valuable to me. I want it to last a long time. So PLEASE, PLEASE, do not keep it a secret when something breaks. I have found more leaks that were let go to become major problems when they should not have. I have found heating systems with safety features bypassed. I have found holes in places they should not be like in roofs and floors. Why did the tenant keep these things a secret from me? I have never figured it out. Perhaps it has to do with number 3 or they think they will get in trouble, but who really knows?
6. I’m Unhappy With ______ – Whatever it happens to be so I am just going to go through the expense and hassle of moving rather than speaking up and resolving the situation. Many tenants, if the feel like their needs are not being attended to or feel in some way hurt, will simply clam up and keep that fact a secret from us. I understand you may not like confrontation, but if you had just talked to us about things, we could have likely worked them out. After all, we are human and make mistakes, plus we are pretty nice people. Let us know when something is wrong. How else can we fix it?
So there you have my top 6 tenant secrets. Every year I see a few of these again and again. I guess it is just part of the business.
What do your tenants keep from you? Please share with your comments.
