Common Landlord Mistakes

By E-Renter Tenant Screening
Posted on February 19, 2013 under Landlord Paperwork and Forms, Landlord Tips | Be the First to Comment

Not raising the rent: most landlords raise the rent at regular intervals, to cover increases in maintenance costs and property taxes. Some do it annually, or whenever the lease is up for renewal. Others hesitate to raise the rent on good tenants who pay on time, for fear they will move out. But if your costs are increasing, you can’t keep rents steady—even for the best tenants. Besides, if new tenants move in and find out you’re charging them more than an existing tenant (and they will find out), they won’t be happy.

Treating tenants differently: To continue, it’s all about treating tenants equally. If Unit A pays $600 per month, so should Unit B. If there is a no smoking rule, it must be enforced with all tenants. Don’t respond quickly when “nice” tenants have a leaking faucet, but make “problem” tenants wait. Failure to be fair and equitable to all tenants could leave you vulnerable to a fair housing complaint. It’s also a lot easier to explain to tenants asking for exceptions that you have to apply the rules equally to everyone.

Failure to conduct tenant screening: Time and again, landlords go on their “gut feeling” about tenants. That’s a mistake in two ways: 1) Making decisions based on appearance, the type of car a tenant drives or other arbitrary qualifications sets you up for discrimination claims. 2) No matter how long you’ve trusted your gut feelings about prospective tenants, you could be dead wrong. Check employment, previous landlords, conduct tenant background screening, and run a credit check on every applicant.

Asking the wrong questions: Here’s another potentially harmful situation that’s easy for landlords to get into. If you ask a prospective tenant if they plan on having children, or a female tenant if she’s married, you could be breaking the law. Keep things strictly business and avoid asking tenants personal questions.

Being unclear on policies and expectations: Clarify each policy, including rent payments, security deposits, parking, pets, smoking, maintenance schedules, excessive noise, garbage pickup, common areas, etc. Explain how security deposits work, and let tenants know up front how you handle deductions when they move out.

Letting tenants pay rent late: For some reason, many landlords and tenants play a little game every month where the rent is due on the first, but there’s a grace period of a few days, so the tenant doesn’t pay until the grace period is over, but then when they miss that deadline, the landlord gives them a few more days… and so on and so on, every month. Don’t be that landlord. If rent is due on the first, make sure your tenants know it. Don’t allow partial rent payments, either. And when they’re late, follow through with whatever consequences are laid out in your lease. Make it easier for everyone by allowing online rent payment or automatic payments from the tenant’s checking account to yours.