Consider these steps for dealing with bad tenants in your rental property.
Bad tenants are every rental property owner’s nightmare. You spend a tremendous amount of time and money fixing up a property, and then some deadbeats move in and threaten to destroy everything you’ve built. The most common tenant problems are late rent, bad checks, and then additional (unapproved) residents, pets, noise and unsupervised minors. Unfortunately, these problems rarely correct themselves without intervention. While there’s often no easy way out of these difficult situations, there are some steps you can take to improve things and protect your investment.
Step 1: Remember that tenants have rights.
Tenants have rights under the law. A lot of rights, actually. To deal with a bad tenant, you’ll need to exercise patience and caution, and be careful that you are proceeding with the law on your side.
Before addressing an issue with a tenant, make sure you’ve reviewed your lease agreement and boned up on the local laws relating to landlords and tenants. Going into a new lease, specify as much as possible in your rental agreement, including how and when tenants should pay the rent, how late fees work, prohibited activities and what the consequences are for violating the lease terms. Also include a general, catch-all phrase that addresses “peace and quiet.”
Step 2: Get all renters on the lease
Get a signed lease for every adult in the unit, even if the new parties move in after the original lease has been signed. If problems arise, send notices to each tenant on the lease. That way, one renter can’t claim that he/she never got the notice. Also, it saves you surprises if you have to eventually evict someone, and then find out that there is another person living in the property.
Step 3: Treat everyone the same
Housing is considered a basic need and is governed by the Fair Housing Act. So if the tenant can prove that you are treating him differently, even if you feel it’s justified, then he has a case against you.
To avoid that situation, send notices to all of your tenants at the same time. Maintain policies that apply to all tenants, not just the ones giving you problems. For example, you can’t enforce quiet hours on some tenants but not others. If you need to implement policies to protect your property, then they have to apply to all renters.
Step 4: Try to resolve the situation first – and create a paper trail in the process
If a tenant is in violation of the lease, or hasn’t paid the rent, start by politely notifying her of the problem. Many experts suggest a phone call—keep the tone civil but direct. Document the call and then follow up with a letter that recounts the conversation. With that letter, include a copy of the rental agreement with the violation highlighted. Continue with notifications and documentation until the tenant adheres to the rental agreement or you need to initiate an eviction.
Step 5: Provide a “cure or quit” notice
If your tenant is violating the lease due to a certain type of behavior, start by sending a “cure or quit” notice. This means the tenant has a set period of time to fix the problem or face termination of the lease. The exception is for criminal behavior. For example, if someone is running a meth lab on of your property, you can skip the cure-or-quit notice and jump right into eviction.
Step 6: Avoid self-help evictions
If you need to evict a tenant, familiarize yourself with the laws regarding evictions. Here in Colorado, state law prohibits what’s called “self-help evictions.” Basically, this means you can’t just throw out a bad tenant. You also can’t threaten, intimidate or slander a tenant, no matter how bad he is. Elements of an illegal self-help eviction include:
- Locking a tenant out of the unit
- Moving a tenants’ belongs out of the apartment without consent
- Shutting off a tenant’s utilities
- Threatening a tenant or ordering her to leave
- Slandering a tenant
- Ignoring maintenance and repair requests by a tenant to encourage him to move
- Interfering with a tenant’s access to the property’s amenities.
Step 7: Sell the property
Let’s face it; sometimes, nasty tenants just aren’t worth the headache. If you have particularly troublesome renters, or a history of bad tenants in a particular property, it might make sense to divest yourself of the property entirely. In this situation, you may find it easier to work with a trustworthy real estate investor, like Sell As Is Denver, than to sell the property through a traditional real estate agent on the open market. For some purchasers, a history of unpleasant tenant relations or the possibility of hidden damage to the property from bad renters is enough to make them steer clear. You may find that you get the best value for your property from an investor who plans to alter the use of the property, or to fix it up for resale. Learn more about this process and how it could benefit you by contacting Sell As Is Denver today.
Disclaimer: This article is intended to be used for background informational purposes only and should not be used for legal or financial advice.