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Landlord – Tenant Relationships

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Do you have a good relationship with your tenants? Thankfully I do, and according to a recent survey carried out by the National Landlords Association, the majority of landlords say they enjoy good relationships with their tenants—an impressive 61 percent report that their relationship is “very good” and only 1 percent described it as “poor”.

When you consider that the number of people moving into rented accommodation is growing daily, this is certainly good news for tenants AND landlords as a good relationship certainly helps to make life much easier.  But as a new landlord, how can you make sure you enjoy a harmonious relationship with your tenants?

Communication with tenants is very important, and of those surveyed by the NLA, 36 percent claimed to be in touch with their tenants at least once per month. I probably don’t speak to the majority of my tenants as often, but they all know I am easily contactable should any problems arise, and I believe that this should always be the case—within reason!

From the beginning of your relationship, make sure you discuss the tenancy agreement thoroughly and ensure your tenants know exactly how much they are expected to pay, as well as how often. This will help to iron out any potential misunderstandings that could sour your future relationship.

It is also a good idea to do thorough background checks on prospective tenants before any tenancy agreements are signed to avoid the issues caused when tenants fall into rent arrears, or are not who they claim to be.

Get your tenants to pay on time, all the time!

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As landlords, one of the biggest worries we have is a tenant defaulting on payments (the other being that the tenant trashes the property)!

To make sure there is less likelihood of a tenant missing their rental payment, make sure you do the following two things:

a. Set-up a standing order so the rent is paid directly into your bank account
b. Make sure the standing order is on the same day, or the day after the tenant gets paid from their place of work

Point b. is crucial and you should always seriously consider changing the tenant’s payment date to the same day they get their salary paid.

This means that if the tenancy agreement runs from the 14th of the month and they get paid on the 29th of every month, make sure they are paying on the 29th of every month. You can request that they pay for the 14th to the 29th upfront and then start the standing order for the 29th of every month.

By doing this you know that your rental income is being paid on the day when they are likely to have the greatest amount of funds in their account.

This, of course, means that as a landlord you have a greater chance of getting your rental income, even if the tenant starts to experience some financial difficulties.