Owning a rental property can be an excellent investment to produce income; however, you’ll have to prepare for repairs and tenant issues.
It’s important to prepare for potential issues with tenants so that you know when to evict if the situation arises.
Landlord duties are important, and if you want the rental arrangement to benefit everyone involved, you’ll need careful preparation. Study up on tenant rights, landlord responsibilities, evictions, and rental laws in your city and state. Today, we’re sharing the basics you need to know about tenant problems and evictions in Colorado Springs.
Common Tenant Issues
In an ideal world, you would never experience issues with your renters, and everything would go smoothly. Unfortunately, it’s more likely that you’ll eventually face some of these common issues with tenants, and preparation can create solutions more quickly.
Neighbor Disruption
What will you do when you receive neighbor complaints? Landlords often report complaints from neighbors or other tenants that need to be resolved. You can prepare beforehand by looking up noise restrictions, curfew, and parking laws that address your area. Share these in the rental agreement. You may also suggest that disagreements between tenants need to be resolved on their own, or mediation by the landlord could result in eviction of one or both parties.
Pets
Some pets can cause irreversible damage to a property, while other types of damage are unnoticeable. You need to determine if you’ll allow pets, specific guidelines for which types of pets you’ll allow, and if you have additional rent or a deposit. Outline the rules and consequences explicitly in the rental agreement.
Late Payments
The biggest nightmare for any landlord is when a tenant stops paying rent. You need to draw firm lines in the sand for late, partial, or missing payments. Don’t give them an inch, or they will take a mile. Set up your system for late fees, notices, and careful documentation.
When to Evict
So you’ve got a terrible tenant that has pushed all of your buttons—now what? Eviction isn’t a process that happens overnight, and you’ll need lots of careful documentation. Here’s when you should evict:
- Tenant has failed to pay rent after notices
- Violation of the Rental Agreement – be sure you have documentation
- Damage to property
- Having unauthorized pets
- Subleasing
- Criminal action
When NOT to Evict
- Retaliation for complaints
- Discrimination based on race, sex, familial situation, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ancestry, or marital status
- Obnoxious or needy behaviors
When you’re certain that the tenant has violated the rental agreement, laws, or payment terms, you can begin moving forward on eviction by placing a notice on their door or enlisting certified mail. Carefully read your state’s laws and consider employing an eviction attorney. Problems you continue to see can be added to future rental agreements with new tenants to create a more favorable rental situation.
We Can Help
If you’re tired of your stressful landlord job and tenant issues, we can help. ZechBuysHouses is ready to take your call and move forward with selling your property right away for a better resolution to your tenant headaches. We’ll buy any property in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in any condition!