Tenants are the Frontline
Tenants are the first responders to issues at our rentals, they may notice issues as they are living amongst it, they are crucial to the preservation of our client's properties.
Just as you would train your staff in your business we train our tenants at the outset inducting them into their new home and providing them with all they need to know to make your rental property their home and encourage them to treat it as such. Setting expectations at the beginning of the tenancy and maintaining these expectations through consistent inspections, we can ensure the tenants are doing their job of caring for our client's investment.
Available and Without Judgment
Communication lines need to be open and honest with all parties, this is something we foster from the very beginning of our relationship with tenants. Being available and timely with our responses can defuse a situation before it starts. Listening to concerns without judgment and emotion, allows us to concentrate on fixing the problem before it gets out of hand.
Tricky Tenants
Changes to the Residential Tenancies Act on 12 August 2020 meant the end of the landlord's ability to terminate a tenancy with no reason by giving 90 days notice to a tenant. The aim of the the legislation was to provide security of tenure for tenants, which is good so long as the tenants are making their rental a home and treating it as such. There are always going to be times when this is not the case. The legislation is new and relatively untested but there are still ways to deal with tricky tenants. This is another valuable reason to have an experienced property manager looking after your rental property.
Paper Trail
It is even more important now with the recent changes to the Residential Tenancies Act that everything involving a rental property is documented, this is why we follow up all communications with a confirmation email. This not only creates certainty for all parties, it provides a paper trail, sets out expectations and provides an opportunity for any party to query miscommunications.