It’s one of the worst nightmares for landlords – a
tenant who hasn’t paid rent for weeks and won’t vacate the property.
Unfortunately, a good tenant can quickly turn into
a bad tenant.
This can happen due to personal troubles, health
issues, drugs, they lose their job or get divorced.
But the problem is, as a property investor you not
only stand to lose out on your rental income, which you’re most likely relying
on to help pay your mortgage, but you may not be able to access your property
or find new tenants until your existing tenants leave.
And the end result is that you could be
significantly out of pocket.
So what are your rights as a landlord if this
happens?
Well, it all starts before you take on a tenant.
Make sure you check their past rental history using
national rental databases and make sure your potential tenant doesn’t
overextend themselves.
It’s a good rule to don’t have the rental exceed
30% of the tenants’ combined income, otherwise, they’re more likely to find
themselves in mortgage stress.
I believe it’s important to have a good line of
communication with your tenant
Do regular inspections of your property and
answered any tenant requests promptly.
This should make communication during challenging
times a little easier.
Find out why your tenant is in arrears
You should know the day your tenant is in arrears,
which is why using RealRenta is key
The first step should be to find out why your
tenant isn’t paying rent and to begin making polite enquiries and assist in
minimising your loss.
The reason you haven’t received the rent could be
something quite simple and easily fixed, such as:
- simple forgetfulness
- temporary cash flow
problems
- a misunderstanding
between joint tenants
Or it could be something more complicated and
long-term, such as:
- your tenant has lost
their job
- your tenants are a
couple and have split up
- your tenant is
suffering from challenging personal issues (such as bereavement or
work-related stress).
RealRenta has all the
tools that a property manager has, but at over ¼ the cost of a property manager.
Join now and the cost
is less than a cup of coffee a week to manage your rental property
RealRenta also has a
free vision, so why not check it out
Jason Gwerder
Monday, 22 February 2021