Legal Documents are Just a Beginning

By E-Renter Tenant Screening
Posted on November 13, 2008 under Landlord Paperwork and Forms | Be the First to Comment

In addition to standard rental documents like a lease, move-in checklist, etc., you might want to consider having one place where you record communications with your tenants. This can be something quite simple like a notebook, that you keep as a sort of journal.

What to Include in Communication Log

Simply make entries showing:

• date
• type of communication (face-to-face conversation, phone conversation or message, note delivered to the unit, mailed letter, etc.)
• general content of the communication.

A simple entry such as “Tenant requested XXX. Response was XXX.” or “Notified tenant of XXX” can be very important in the event of a dispute, or even a lawsuit.

When you can show that you always note all conversations, such a journal is generally considered carefully in determining what happened between a landlord and tenant.