Leases are an important part of the rental process, protecting both tenants and landlords. One of the most important landlord tips you can use is to lay out all the rules in a lease and ensure tenants abide by the rules.
However, not every tenant will follow your lease, making lease enforcement vital. Here are a few of the most common rental lease violations to watch out for.
Long-Term Guests
Having guests in a rental isn't a big deal most of the time. People have friends over all the time, which is fine when they don't stay long-term.
It becomes an issue when guests stay long-term. You haven't vetted the person living in your rental, so you don't know their background or if they will care for your property. Your lease should indicate the maximum time a guest can stay and impose penalties if someone stays over that time.
Property Damage
Property damage is one of the most common issues with lease violations. Tenants may try to make changes and mess something up that damages the property.
Before a tenant moves in, take pictures of your rental's state. You can then compare those pictures with the current state of the rental after someone moves out. Use that as evidence to ensure the tenant covers any damage that occurs under their watch.
Unauthorized Pets
Pets can create havoc in a rental when they aren't trained. That's why one of the best pieces of landlord advice is to restrict pets and charge extra for them.
However, some tenants try to get away with having pets without notifying their landlord. Create terms in your lease that set the terms for pets, if any, and impose fines if the tenant breaks the rules.
Commercial Property Use
It's not uncommon for people to get side gigs today. People take up driving work, freelance jobs, and other jobs for side income.
But these things are far from using a rental property for commercial purposes. Some tenants may set up a shop for production purposes and use it to run an actual business. Include terms prohibiting this if you don't want your rentals to turn into a commercial shop.
Unpaid Rent
Unpaid rent is one of the primary causes of lease violations and tenant evictions. Today, much of that may be because of the financial difficulties of tenants. However, some of it is also because of negligence.
Create a policy to handle these situations. If a tenant has financial struggles, create a system to investigate this and act appropriately. But if it's because of negligence, you can impose fines and other penalties for late payments.
Take Lease Enforcement Seriously
A tenant renting your property doesn't give them a license to do whatever they want. Your lease should have limits in writing that tell tenants what they can and can't do.
Unfortunately, some renters won't take the lease terms seriously and will take actions that harm your rental properties. Be sure to take lease enforcement seriously to ensure your properties stay in great shape.
If you're looking for a property management partner to help you manage your rentals, PMI Pheonix Metro has many landlord services available. Reach out to us today to speak with someone and learn more about how we can help.
