How to Deal with Difficult Tenants
Damage that costs you thousands. Ever increasing rent arrears. Refusing you access to inspect the property. There are any number of ways a tenant can be difficult – but how do you handle it?
Working with people can be tricky and encountering issues with your tenants can be really stressful, so we’re here to help.
We’ve previously looked at the issues landlords can face with tenants (and the issues that tenants can face with landlords). We’ve had a landlord face £30k in rent arrears because of fraud and another left with £25,000 of damage by tenants just before they moved out – unfortunately, there’s a lot that can go wrong!
Rent arrears
Rent arrears are a big issue. Being a landlord doesn’t mean you have endless financial reserves, your money is likely tied up in your investment. Whilst it might be tempting to use your savings, with mortgage rates so much higher than they were, it’s not a sustainable answer.
So – what should you do? Luckily there are a few options!
Ultimately, rent arrears is stressful for both the landlord and the tenant. Doing your due diligence before a tenant moves in and maintaining a professional, but approachable, relationship with them throughout the tenancy will hopefully mean a smoother ride should rent arrears throw a spanner in the works.
Damage
Damage is a pretty terrifying prospect. We’ve covered tenant damage that is so horrendous that it actually hits the headlines and leaves landlords footing the bill for tens of thousands in repairs.
But how can you protect against it? Well, there are a few ways…
Access
What if you can’t even get into your property to do a regular inspection?
Now, the first thing is to understand your rights.
Yes, you own the property, but this does not give you unlimited access to the property, your tenants have the right to quiet enjoyment. You must give reasonable notice for any visits you want to make and actually, you are supposed to give at least 24hrs written notice.
If those visits are not convenient for the tenant, they can refuse. So a single refusal doesn’t necessarily mean terrible things are happening in your property, just that the timing wasn’t right.
There are some instances where you don’t need that content or notice including:
But what if the tenant refuses permission consistently and it’s not just a timing issue? It’s understandable that this would be a bit of a red flag and you could be imagining all sorts – from not wanting you to see that they’re treating the property poorly or because they are undertaking illegal activities.
So what do you do about it?
Well, first, let’s not jump to conclusions! It might just be that they don’t understand why you’d want or need to access the property – this is why we recommend that you let them know you like to do annual or bi-annual inspections when you introduce yourself to them. It’s also a good idea at this point to tell them about the annual gas safety inspection.
So let your tenant know the reason for requiring access. Remind them, for example, about the annual gas safety certification check. If you have in writing that you have tried to get access to the property to carry it out and were refused – the liability falls on them.
This might be enough to convince them to give you access to the property.
However, if you can’t get access even for something as important as a legally required gas safety check, the time has come to consider legal action. Let your tenants know in writing that you will be beginning a formal route to gain access.
Other ways to support yourself
Running a rental business can be tough, particularly if you run into these issues with tenants. If you need support or the benefit of experience to guide you through these pitfalls, book a call with us and we can put you in touch with the right letting agent for you and they can take tricky tenants off your hands, so you can focus on other things.
