Professional Management Tips for Dealing with Difficult Tenants

Tenants who seem to always pay late, causing damages to your property or just downright breaking the lease terms! Many times a tenant just has their mind set on arguing with everything- even when reasonable.

Most experienced landlords and managers know EXACTLY what I am talking about! 

If you own rental property or manage rental property you will certainly come across one of these challenging people at some point! It is not easy or fun but it can be done! Here are some helpful tips to get you through! Read On! 

Dealing with Tough Tenants

It is easy to get caught up in someone else’s anger. The heat of a confrontation (valid or not) can quickly go from professional to slumlord status quickly. 

Do not buy into their emotions, keep calm. Let them voice their opinion or grievance, listen and do not judge or interrupt. If a tenant is being hostile, ask them to call back at another time or email you the information. 

Getting loud and angry will not help the situation. Tenants are a lot more receptive when you come across calm, cool and collected.

Once the tenant has had time to “vent”, ask if they would send you a detailed email so that you may take time to properly review the complaint and respond appropriately. ( #2 will relate to this)

Make sure to get back to them quickly with answers or resolutions. Use your lease for guidance. Do not back down on the agreement terms, use them to bring peace.

Get it in writing. Nothing exists in the world of rental management “Unless it is in writing”! This can seem like over kill but difficult tenants have a way of showing up in court when the lease ends and you want to make sure that you are covered! 

Tip: Ask that tenants correspond via email or in writing vs. calling you whenever possible. Start a file in your email that you save all correspondence between you and your tenant in. This includes work orders and other requests. If you have a phone conversation with your tenant, respond to them back via email with “Per our conversation today, I etc..”   

If you are a parent either the fur baby kind or the actual kind, you understand that you have to establish boundaries and expectations for behavior. Otherwise you find yourself in a never ending loop of “wrong” behavior. 

Follow the terms of your lease agreement! Period! End of subject! Do not find yourself swaying on items in the lease that were agreed upon before the tenant moved in. 

Example: Late Rent, it happens sometimes. It is not the end of the world for either of you. When the tenant calls with “whatever reason is not their fault”, be kind, be calm. Ask for the date to expect payment, remind them of the lease terms- exactly as written. Let them know you understand and empathize with them, and there will be “X amount of late charges”, they can make payments on it before the next rent is due, and if they cannot get rent in before X date stated on the contract, you will have to start the eviction process. You do not have to evict, however, when they understand that you are going to abide by the lease… exactly… it will make a big difference on other items moving forward. 

When you have a problem tenant use this as a method to overwhelm them with kindness. Answer calls quickly, respond to maintenance requests emails etc quickly and pleasantly. Make an effort to always use their name when speaking with them and make sure to ask them how things are going. 

This strategy usually works, even when it is tough to do! You will not always be able to win a tenant over, but you can at least be the most pleasant person in the situation!. 

There are times when nothing seems to work and the difficult tenant can become a nightmare! They waste so much of your time and emotional energy that it may not be worth it! When this happens, it may be well worth reaching out to a professional and let them take on the problem for you! Think of all the time you will gain and all the stress you will be rid of.. You can relax and let them be someone else’s headache!

Tip: When interviewing a property management company here are a few things to ask.

What is their experience? How long have they been managing properties?

Get details: Average days on market, retention rate owner/tenant, vacancy rate, delinquency rate, eviction rate. 

Ask for references from other owners they manage. Do not just rely on “reviews” they can often times be misleading. Many “review” sites get more hits from negative than positive reviews and charge the company to “remove” bad items… 

If you have just reached a breaking point and cannot take another minute. Reach out to the tenant and see if they are interested in parting ways. Many times, if you are that unhappy with them, they may be just as unhappy with you. Make an offer to terminate the lease agreement without penalty and go your separate ways.

Sending a simple “notice to vacate” will get the job done without any issues, but try to travel the peaceful road first. 

Evicting a tenant should be a last resort! The process is not easy and in some states must require a severe violation of the lease agreement that cannot be resolved. 

In Nevada there are only a few reasons that evictions are granted. 

1. Failure to pay rent

2. Hold over after the lease has ended. Must give proper notice.

3. Illegal activity, distribution of illegal substance, severe damage to the property. 

Most states require a notice to correct be served and if the tenant does not comply then you may move forward. Judges are not so understanding when you tell them that the tenant is just a “pain”.. 

So, don’t think that you can evict a tenant just because you don’t get along with them. Unfortunately, that isn’t an option.