Remember that tenant who skipped out in the middle of the night owing you rent? Of course you do. We always remember the bad ones. Your thoughts at the time likely consisted of anger and frustrated revenge. I say frustrated because the tenant seemed long gone. However things always tend to come back around. Former tenants, even the bad ones, often need a reference. While revenge can be tempting and sweet, what is the best way to handle the situation? What is the best policy when a bad tenant needs a reference?
If you stay in this landlording business long enough, you will get a bad tenant or two. No screening system is perfect and sometimes tenants just go bad. If you continue to stay in the business, you will find that many of these tenants eventually pop back up again and actually seek your assistance. They pop back up after several years because they need to explain a gap in their housing history. They may be trying to rent another home or get a loan of some type. No matter the reason, someone, somewhere is asking them something they cannot explain away.
When you hear your former tenant’s name it instantly rings a bell. Both because you remember the sting and you have been waiting for this day. You cannot wait to get on the phone and share all of the juicy details. Your thoughts turn to how sweet revenge is going to be. But before you do speak, before you over indulge in that sweetness, I want to stop you. I want you wait just a few moments more and think about what you are doing. Because if you do it wrong, it could come back around to you.
Stop and remember that we live in a litigious society, and anything you say or do can be used against you. Yes, I know that former tenant screwed you over, but what you say now could hurt you even worse. You need to play things safe here. If you do, you will get your revenge and protect yourself from further damage as well.
How do you do that?
You do it by being professional and by sticking to the facts. I am not telling you to not say anything about past events. That would be unfair to whoever is currently asking and to you. Plus, there should after all be repercussions for past actions.
What I am telling you is to act and sound like the professional landlord you are. I know it is tempting but please do not fly off the handle with accusations and name calling. Instead, relax and take a look at your files. Explain exactly what happened. Be calm, cool and collected. Use phrases such as:
“Mr. Former Tenant was late 4 times with his rent.”
“Mr. Former Tenant left owing $1,000.”
“Mr. Former Tenant was evicted by our company on June 10, 2015.”
Just the facts as Joe Friday on Dragnet would say. By remaining composed and by sticking to the facts, you limit your exposure. No name calling. No long winded rants. Just the facts, just the way it happened.
If you want to put a bit of icing on the cake say the following:
“No, I would not rent to this person again.”
Quick, simple and factual statements like these say a lot. Anyone on the other end of the phone should grasp your meaning. They will also appreciate your calm and cool manner. Now sit back and wish you could be a fly on the wall in whatever meeting your former tenant is in. The look on their face is probably priceless.
Have a good story about getting back at a former bad tenant? Please share below.
