Dealing with troublesome tenants

It’s a landlord’s worst nightmare – you find a tenant who you think you can trust, who looks great on paper, but then who damages your investment property, behaves antisocially and doesn’t pay the rent.

In this situation, there is nothing that can be done to pre-empt this kind of tenant, especially if you have gone through the relevant employment, reference and perhaps even credit checks.

Unfortunately, there will always be troublesome tenants, but there are a number of ways that you can safeguard your investment.
As soon as you discover that there is trouble afoot your best course of action is to address the issue immediately, whilst at the same time avoiding confrontation. By bringing certain behaviours or issues with payments to light as soon as they occur, you may be able to alleviate any problems early on, before matters get worse.

Rent arrears can be a big issue, so if your tenant has missed payments, it’s always best to seek legal advice to ensure your interests as a landlord are protected, even if the problem has been addressed with your tenant.

Care needs to be taken in this circumstance, and you must ensure you do not contravene your tenant’s rights. If it does come to court action, your lawyer will be able to offer advice on proceedings, which may result in eviction.

Eviction of a tenant is obviously a last resort, and a decision that is not achieved lightly. By ensuring that you are up to date with current regulation and know your legal standing, you can protect your investment property and minimise the risk.

Alternatively, by employing the services of a property management company, any problems or issues with tenants can be dealt with for you, depending on the level of package you have.