Being a landlord is not always easy—regardless of whether you’re dealing with one tenant or 20. Anything can happen in a home, so without proper conflict-preventive measures, problems can develop and escalate quickly. Sometimes, tenant disputes end up in court. That’s why I’m here today to tell you the three most common tenant-landlord disputes and how you can effectively prevent them from happening:
1. Tenant and landlord responsibilities. Tenants will not appreciate discovering unexpected responsibilities during the lease signing, especially things they assumed would be the responsibilities of the landlord, such as payment for certain utilities, landscaping, and such. To prevent disagreeing with your tenant on your responsibilities, tenant and landlord duties should be clearly defined before both parties sign the lease. In fact, this should be outlined as soon as you begin advertising for your rental property and during the tenant’s application process.
2. Property damage. Damages on the property are a common cause of conflict. To protect both you and your residents’ interests in property management, it’s crucial to conduct a thorough inspection of the property before your tenants move in, and have everything well-documented. Once they’ve moved in, ask your tenants to submit a full walkthrough report. These will be crucial in saving time, energy, and avoiding unnecessary disputes when the tenant moves out of your property.
3. Security deposit refund. As a landlord, you have to know that security deposit refunds is the most common reason why tenants and landlords end up in court. To prevent this, you have to ensure proper documentation of the property before the tenants move in, and outline in the lease what charges will be deducted from the security deposit upon moving out. That way, should there be any damages to the property when the tenant moves out, it will be clear and on paper that damages and other applicable fees will be charged against the security deposit.
Managing a property’s day-to-day operations can be tiring, so if you want to know more about how we manage properties, reach out to us today through phone or email. Call 843-438-6690 or send an email to pierce@tidepm.com. We’d be more than happy to walk you through our property management process.
