She stewed in silent frustration for several months, thinking about the extra water and heat being used, not to mention the violation of trust, the tenant never contacted her about another person moving in. She needed to find out about the guest / additional tenant?
Those frustrations came to a head one day that involved a confrontational conversation between her (the landlord) and a long term quiet single professional tenant, single until her boyfriend showed up on the scene.
The tenant agreed to comply with the lease agreement, however, right there at that very moment, she decided it would be best if she and her new boyfriend found a place together.
This landlord ended up losing a great tenant. The good news is she may have helped advance a relationship.
Now, she is stuck doing a make ready (average cost to get an apartment ready is $900).
What is worse, she ended up accepting a couple as the next tenants for the same amount of rent.
This landlord should have just made a deal with the original tenant.
The landlord business, like any business, it is all about the people.
It is about understanding human behavior and circumstances.
People have changes in their lives, could be relationship, income, location of work, or many other things.
To answer the question, we need to dig a little deeper, use common sense, set expectations, provide a detailed explanation of your lease agreement and hold your tenants accountable to the rules they agreed to.
Then be flexible if you need to alter the agreement. That could mean additional rent, moving the tenant to another larger unit, approving a roommate / long term guest or dealing with any other variables that come your way (make sure to properly identify all tenants that live in your units).
Until next time,
Design your landlord experience.
Michael P Currie
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