Bad tenants may be unavoidable. Of course, if a bad tenant can be avoided it behooves a landlord to take every step possible to do so.
From The Globe and Mail (Sep. 03, 13):
Selecting a disreputable tenant who causes major damage to a unit can leave a landlord with a significant bill for clean-up and repairs, scare off other regularly paying tenants, and even label the landlord as inattentive or with the classic slumlord designation. (1)
But the landlord/tenant relationship is a challenge in and of itself. Many landlords and property managers will suggest that the relationship between tenant and landlord is so fraught with tension that “bad tenants,” real or otherwise, will always exist.
From the Huffington Post (Nov. 06, 14):
Disagreements abound over every aspect of the rental process, from payments to repairs, leases to drop-ins. On What Does the Internet Think, a site that uses linguistic analysis to determine how positively something is viewed online, landlords have a negativity rating of 98.9 percent — higher than headaches (95 percent), taxes (79 percent) and even adultery (just 51 percent!). (2)
With so much negativity going around the perception a tenant receives from a landlord or property manager could differ greatly from the reality.
Communication is a critical component in the tenant/landlord relationship
From the Huffington Post (Nov. 06, 14):
… anxiety and conflict between landlords and tenants can be avoided when both parties lay out their expectations explicitly at the beginning of the relationship…(3)
As the application process commences a landlord/property manager should communicate with potential candidates each step of the process and what should be expected. The key to trying to avoid a bad tenant is thorough communication.
There are multiple steps to screening a tenant and attempting to avoid a bad one.
1. Completing a full application, preferably through an on-line secure platform such as TenantScreeningUSA.com. The depth and thoroughness of an application is generally up to a landlord but should request enough information to make a fully informed decision about an applicant.
2. Conduct a face-to-face interview with applicants and include all potential adult residents.
3. Complete a thorough tenant background check and include consumer credit report, evictions, and criminal histories.
4. Personal references.
From www.LegalZoom.com:
Keep in mind that the best references in this situation are not personal friends and/or roommates but previous landlords—even better if it’s not the current landlord, who could be so ready to get rid of that tenant that he or she might not paint a true picture. Past and present employers can also make for reliable references depending on the type of work the potential tenant does and the length of employment. (4)
Asking questions throughout the process is important as well. If information comes across as incomplete or unbelievable probe further until a satisfactory response is achieved. If one cannot be found it may be best to end the relationship and look for a different tenant.
Adam Almeida, President and CEO of TenantScreeningUSA.com states: “Communication combined with a thorough vetting process, including a tenant check, will greatly assist landlords and property managers in avoiding bad tenants. Are bad tenants 100% avoidable? Probably not, but if one takes all the steps in a thorough vetting process the risk is greatly reduced.
TenantScreeningUSA.com is a third-party tenant screening company that can assist landlords and property managers in creating a thorough and complete tenant screening process. Utilizing unique screening tools and accessing multiple background reports, TenantScreeningUSA.com can potentially assist in avoiding bad tenants.
Notes:
(3) ibid
(4) https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/how-to-protect-yourself-from-bad-tenants
