What do you do with tenants who constantly complain

Fair enough

I don't agree with this point. Just because a tenant complains doesn't mean there is something to fix. I have had a tenant complain about the colour of the carpet after moving in. No fix required. Same tenant complained about the a/c not working and the oven not working. On inspection, they were both found to be in working order. Most of my tenants complain when they move into a place. Unless it is an actual fault (rare), I don't "fix" anything. After that, when they report actual faults, I fix them straight away. I have found that saying "no" to trivial demands upfront stops a lot of the complaining during the tenancy.

 

You have to be really careful about doing inspections yourself on some things; as you rightly mention you don't attempt to 'fix' things yourself. I've seen lots of disastrous examples in my former professional life where landlords have either attempted to save money or think they are appropriately qualified to tackle a job.

 

Haha! I can imagine!

Not a problem for me. I did a complete reno of the house before including taking 3 walls back to studs. Myself and my investment partner both have trades backgrounds so can do most things except electrical and plumbing. With that background we know when it is time to call in the pros.

 

I once rented a place, signed the lease and moved in, only to find out it's infested with mice and cockroaches. "Too bad" says the landlord, "you rented it AS IS".

Only after sending a breach notice to them did they send out a pest control guy. He said he would have to come back in 3 months to do the next stage of treatment. He never came back of course, and I called to complain that there's still bugs and I got told "too bad, you've lived there 3 months now, it's your fault".

So sure, there are lots of tenants that are crazy, but sometimes, it's the landlord.

 

I would tell the tenants to find a place they are happy with and terminate the lease.

 

This is what I am thinking of. I will talk to my tenants about what I am planning and outline the potential disruptions to them. It will be up to them if they stay. If they want to leave though, I will make sure they find suitable accomodation. I just did a quick check of what is available in the area. There are some decent houses for less rent than they are paying now, so they might even be better off!

 

Good point. You'd swear that no one here ever rented from a dodgy landlord and/or real estate agency.

 

Given how extremely rare that is, you're probably right.

 

My last complaint as a tenant was that the oven wasn't working.

I email the pm on a regular basis over minor defects like lifting render so the landlord is aware. Always say don't need it fixed but it's his investment and want to keep him in the loop.

 

What grounds would you use to terminate the lease?

 

Rather than start another thread, thought I'd throw in my latest requests on two of our properties.

Today I've received a request from a tenant who has been in for less than 2 weeks, there are taps dripping (that's fine, happy to organize a plumber), the outside light wont work... so did we check the bulb people?!
They snapped the key in the front gate.... can we fix it?! Am I being unrealistic to tell them that is at their expense, the property was vacant for 3 weeks, my husband & various other trades & agents have been through the property during that time using all sets of keys and no one reported an issue with the key or lock.

On our other property, the tenant moved in 6mths ago, the courtyard was dirt then, with weeds. & now the tenant is now requesting we lay new turf, which will cost a fair bit of money. They have another 6 months left on their lease.
They moved in knowing the condition, they've made zero attempt to spray, weed or maintain the yard or garden beds.
There is no alternate access to the yard, so materials, turf etc would have to go through the house & the tenant owns no gardening equipment.
Would be interested to see what people would do regarding turf?

 

1. Gate at their cost, depending circumstances

2. Get them a bag of grass seed. They can weed and seed

 

1: Get it all fixed

2: Baseball bat

J/k.... put some turf down for old mate.

 

Thanks @TMNT ..... just hit my head and nearly choked on my drink......ha ha

I want a replacement drink and medical care and your PM said ok, they will put in a request.

 

Depends how much you like them.
Considering they haven't bothered to maintain your atrium, I would say no turf.
I would expect it to be in a reasonable condition when they moved out as well.

 

The answer is always "sure, i can add new <insert item>, as long as you are happy to terminate the existing lease and sign a new one with an increase of $X in rent?"

 

Hehe, you're a hard landlord.
Have you actually done this and had someone take you up on it?

 

Not to date. It's usually the tenant trying it on. The balance of power is an important aspect of being a property owner. Don't be a pussy, at the same time, don't be an a-hole.

My terms in my opinion are usually fair. For example, tenants wants an air con, say it costs me $1600. I'll wear the cost, and calculate it over 3 years. So my deal back to the tenant is an increase of $10 per week and sign a new lease for 12 months.

If its something stupid like changing working light bulbs, the answer is also yes, but i will forward the cost to the tenant bundled in a new lease. Pretty much sending a message to the tenant that anything is possible.... as long as you pay.

But if things that are broken, i will approve things to be done pretty much instantly.

 

^^^ this. I find new tenants sign a lease, move in and then ask for a number of things to be changed/added/improved. They are trying to find out what kind of landlord you are. If you are a pushover, they will keep asking for stuff. If you are a hardass, they will stop reporting faults, which is really bad for a property owner. I try to be reasonable but firm. It's good to keep the relationship with the tenant open, so they keep reporting faults, but at the same time don't let them walk all over you.

 

Yeah, that all sounds pretty reasonable.
Gotta get on to legitimate maintenance pretty quick.