Ways to Handle a Bad Tenant in California
Dealing with some stubborn tenants is the worst experience of any landlord or house owner. You have to make a decision about whether to let them stay or to vacate them from your premises. You might choose to reduce your rent down so that you can accommodate this particular landlord, but this usually results in a less. Consequently, you might be tired of how the tenant handles himself or herself, forcing you to give them an eviction notice. Eviction is also expensive in that you will incur additional costs in renovating the house for the new and incoming tenants. Getting the most appropriate solution to handle this problem might be challenging because you do not want to incur extreme losses or additional costs. Some of the ways in which you can deal with your bad tenant include the following.
- If the tenant does not make his or her payments on time, it is essential that you structure a payment option that will be used to pay their rent. People face money issues sometimes, and as a landlord, this is something that you need to understand. However, being over lenient with your tenants can also bring conflicts as they will avoid paying rent intentionally because they know you will understand. You can adopt a method of accepting partial rent payment every once or twice a year from your tenants. If they still refuse to pay, you can use their deposit to cover for the rent, and when their lease period expires, they vacate the premises.
- Secondly, there are some instances when a tent wants a big house but he or she cannot keep up with on-time payment. You can support them by giving them a much affordable room or bringing in a roommate whom they will share the rent expenses with. This guarantees you tenants for a lifetime. And in case one vacates because he or she has found a bigger place, you can get referrals and this will be beneficial to you.
- Before giving a new tenant your room for rent, it is important that you perform a background check on them. This helps you determine their ability to pay rent and some of the reasons as to why they vacated their previous premises. You can do this best by contacting their previous landlords. Performing a background check also helps you know the credit history of your tenant.
- Throwing loud parties can also hinder a landlord’s potential of attracting new clients. First, you will approach this tenant and talk to him or her until you come to a conclusion. The tenant needs to know that the loud music coming from his house is interfering with the other neighbors. Most of the time, the tenant will understand and will change his behavior. However, in cases where the tenant is still being stubborn then you can involve the police to help in resolving the issue. Your area sheriff should be able to help you with this.
Moreover, you can decide to offer the sheriff a small room where he can be living and helping you deal with the bad tenants. When the tenants know that there is a policeman living amongst them then they will be on their best behavior and the loud music or the endless parties will automatically stop. Tenants who also feel that they cannot change their behavior will vacate the premises willingly without having to necessarily drive them out.
- Some of the activities of the tenants can negatively affect their neighbors and this can lead to conflicts. In cases where a conflict between tenants arises, it is important that you allow them resolve the issues themselves. This arrangement should be part of the clause and should stress on the importance of tenants resolving their conflicts amicably without your intervention. This makes tenant learn different ways of getting along and they will learn to respect each other. This in turn brings peace in the premises, and tenants will know the importance of getting along and respecting other people’s spaces. However, if the problem is beyond them, you can step in and help in resolving the issue. However, the tenants should know that once you step in, one of them is likely to vacate the premises.
- Setting rules. After the tenant has paid for the room and is ready to settle, ensure that they have the do’s and don’ts of the apartment to help them stay in the right track. It is important that the incoming tenant gives hos consent or acceptance of the rules in writing, so that when they do something that is against the rules, you can easily get the evidence he signed and show it to him.
- Be objective. You should be objective when living with tenants who are your family or friends. They need to know that this is business, and that every cent counts. Some might even take advantage and use your emotions to make you pity them. Moreover, not all tenants are good as some will work at your sympathetic side, especially if they tried it before and it worked. This does not mean that you will be rigid at all times. You can be flexible once in a while with your tenants but ensure that you use the set rules and guidelines to run your business before you lose so much because of being sympathetic all the time with your tenants.
- Sell the property. Another way that you can deal with bad tenants is to sell the property to a real estate investor. This is the best method especially if the tenants are giving you headache and they are unmanageable. Selling the property to a real estate investor allows the investor to buy the property as it is, with all the tenants in place. This change of ownership is the quickest and the easiest way of handling bad tenants.
- Ensure that your insurance is in place. A bad and angry tenant can threaten to damage the property and this may result to huge loses and you will lose a building that you worked so hard to put in place. When you are getting a landlord insurance, ensure that you also get an accidental damage, building, emergency assistance and content insurance. This helps you when the bad tenant decides to destroy the property because of various issues.
- Consequently, if the tenant threatens you by any chance, do not threaten them back. Save all the messages, emails and voice mails safely as evidence so that you may be able to use them in court. When the tenant is found guilty of all the accusations, he will be charged with damages fee, and he will be able to vacate the premises without having to force him or her. When a tenant starts threatening you, you should take precautions and report them to the necessary authorities before they harm you and even kill you.
- Always record everything in writing. Written records can act as evidence when need arises. This can be time consuming and you might not be that patient to continue keeping the records for future reference. This makes it hard for the tenant to dispute any claim because you have all the evidence in writing. Keep your records in a safe place and they should not know that you write all the happenings down, because if they do, they can invade your home and take the evidence without your notice.
- Avoid renting a bad tenant in the first place. If you have information about the tenant from his or her previous landlord and you know that he is a bad tenant, then it is important that you do not offer him your space. You might end up getting into conflict with the tenant when you rent him space and you know that his past records are not good.
- Bring him closer. Just as the saying goes that “kill them with kindness”, it is better that you be nice to your tenant. As time goes by, he or she will start trusting you and being close with you. This might be difficult especially when you are not a patient person. You will realize that your tenant will find it easy to follow your rules since you have built a good relationship with him or her.
- Hire someone to help. You can also consider hiring an outside party to help you with the bad tenants. Get a property manager who will deal with the clients directly as this will minimize the contact that you have with your tenants. The property manager is in charge of collecting rent, imposing fines and dealing with repairs. The property manager should be able to resolve the conflicts that are around the premises and should be able to know the rules that surround the situation at hand.
- Another way to handle a bad tenant is to strike a deal with them. You can strike a deal with them to leave the premises willingly before you take them to court. No tenant wants to go through the eviction process and striking this deal with them might be the best thing that you do to them. In addition to that, they do not want to have violation of rules as part of the reports because they will not find chance of getting an apartment for rental ever. Asking your tenant to leave is the best action you can take. You will incur some loses but it is the best decision for both of you.
- Walk away. If you have been living in southern part of California and you keep experiencing bad tenants then maybe the real estate investment is not the best option for you in this part of the country. You should consider moving away especially if you have been in this business for long and it is stressing you more. Maybe it is just not for you.
- Try understanding them. Before you make any decision, it is important that you reason with you bad tenant first and try to understand what is making them behave in a certain way. This is usually an overlooked approach but it works in some cases. They might need genuine help because they are going through something personal. Approach them in a calm and collected way that will make them feel comfortable sharing with you what is happening to their private lives.
- Know the law inside out. If you know the laws regarding real estate and you know all about the tenant clause, then you will find it easy dealing with the bad tenants. Having this information at hand is the first tip to being a successful landlord. Tenants also know their rights and if you act outside the law, they will find something that they will use against you in law, and you might lose the case.
- Check the references. Most tenants just fill in names for references and you should not ignore this when you come across one. Follow up with every contact on the reference list of the tenant to ensure that he or she did not just come up with names of fake people. If you feel that the information provided is not true, then trust your instincts and do a follow up. You might be surprised that the people listed as references do not even exist and if this is the case then do not allow this tenant to occupy the premises.
- Request for a Deposit
This is important especially when the tenant refuses to pay his or her rent for a given month. You will use the money he deposited when getting into the premise to act as his rent, and when stays in the premise for a period that cancels the deposit, then they should vacate. This is because you do not owe them any money now and they are not obliged to live in the premises.