When leasing your property, you will inevitably face some issues. No one is perfect and even the most respectful and easy-going tenant is going to misstep. The point here though, is not how to prevent mistakes from happening, but how to deal with them when it happens.
And like most things in the rental agreement, you can set caveats in the contract to mitigate these issues. Fortunately, most of the issues faced are common enough that it won’t feel unwarranted to include them in the contract;
1. Unauthorized pets:
Whether pets are allowed or not are your decision, but remember that every pet is different and will behave differently. If you have furniture in the property that you’ve allowed the tenant to use, then dogs or cats might damage the furniture. Disallowing pets completely or specifying the type allowed in the property is up to you. Just be sure to spell this out explicitly so you’ll be able to enforce the lease and take action if the tenant breaks the rules.
1. Unauthorized pets:
Whether pets are allowed or not are your decision, but remember that every pet is different and will behave differently. If you have furniture in the property that you’ve allowed the tenant to use, then dogs or cats might damage the furniture. Disallowing pets completely or specifying the type allowed in the property is up to you. Just be sure to spell this out explicitly so you’ll be able to enforce the lease and take action if the tenant breaks the rules.
2. Unauthorized guests:
It’s not really ethical to completely prevent your tenant from entertaining guests or even having them stay over for a few days – especially if they are visiting from out of town. However, you will need to determine just how many guests and how long they can stay in the property in your contract, to prevent semi-squatters from freeloading off your tenant. Set a reasonable time frame, for example, seven days that the tenant’s guest is allowed to remain. Anything more results in action taken unless expressly authorized by you. Make sure to include all caveats in the contract so you can legally take action against the tenant if they violate the rules.
3. Damaged property:
The only way to protect your property from tenant negligence is to thoroughly document every piece of furniture and item therein. You can get a professional inspection done or take detailed photographs of key aspects of your property yourself and have your tenant sign off next to each photograph. Furthermore, conducting semi-regular property inspections is a good way to ensure that everyone plays ball. Respect their privacy but also let them know – in the contract – that in the span of 12 months, you will be doing inspections at a certain date/time etc. Whether you want to schedule your inspections or do surprise-visits are entirely up to you and the situation.
It’s not really ethical to completely prevent your tenant from entertaining guests or even having them stay over for a few days – especially if they are visiting from out of town. However, you will need to determine just how many guests and how long they can stay in the property in your contract, to prevent semi-squatters from freeloading off your tenant. Set a reasonable time frame, for example, seven days that the tenant’s guest is allowed to remain. Anything more results in action taken unless expressly authorized by you. Make sure to include all caveats in the contract so you can legally take action against the tenant if they violate the rules.
3. Damaged property:
The only way to protect your property from tenant negligence is to thoroughly document every piece of furniture and item therein. You can get a professional inspection done or take detailed photographs of key aspects of your property yourself and have your tenant sign off next to each photograph. Furthermore, conducting semi-regular property inspections is a good way to ensure that everyone plays ball. Respect their privacy but also let them know – in the contract – that in the span of 12 months, you will be doing inspections at a certain date/time etc. Whether you want to schedule your inspections or do surprise-visits are entirely up to you and the situation.
4. Home businesses:
If your tenant is working from home as a freelancer, this is not a problem. It becomes a problem when your tenant is running an entire business from home, with employees and customers moving to and fro. You have a right to put a stop to this provided you specifically prohibit such things from happening in your contract.
If your tenant is working from home as a freelancer, this is not a problem. It becomes a problem when your tenant is running an entire business from home, with employees and customers moving to and fro. You have a right to put a stop to this provided you specifically prohibit such things from happening in your contract.
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