It’s now a tough market for many landlords, with tenants no longer having to accept the first place that is offered to them. Unfortunately, life can be hard out there for landlords, and it often falls to you to make sure that your tenants are upstanding individuals. All too often, however, decisions about renters are made with a 30-second conversation at the door.

Don’t let this happen – a comprehensive tenant reference check will help you make sure that your new tenant is a responsible adult who isn’t going to cause you problems. But there are some additional things you can do to ensure you keep your “good” tenants and avoid the stress of “bad” tenants.

Here are five things that you can do yourself without having to pay someone else to do them for you.

1. Run a comprehensive check before taking on tenants

Most landlords are wise enough to use the best Letting Agent Hull offers when it comes to taking on new tenants. By entrusting the process to experienced letting agents, landlords benefit from their expertise in identifying reliable tenants who are likely to uphold rental agreements and maintain properties responsibly. This approach minimizes the risks associated with renting. It also enhances the likelihood of a harmonious landlord-tenant relationship.

However, when considering which letting agency to engage, landlords should ask these questions. Firstly, as a landlord, you must inquire about the agency’s track record in finding reliable tenants and managing rental properties effectively. Questions about their screening process for tenants, such as how they verify income, check references, and assess rental history, can help you gauge their thoroughness and reliability.

It’s also important to understand the agency’s approach to handling maintenance and repairs, as well as their responsiveness to tenant issues. Knowing how they communicate with both you and tenants, especially in urgent situations, can provide you with reassurance about their level of service.

2. Keep an eye on rent

This one’s pretty obvious, but also pretty important. If your tenants aren’t paying rent on time or at all, this could seriously affect your profits or even put your property at risk of repossession by the bank if your renter’s default on payments and can’t make the monthly mortgage repayments as a result.

So, ensure you don’t allow your tenants to miss rent payments.

3. Give discounts for early rent payment

Successful landlords know that getting the best tenant is only half the battle; you also want someone who will pay you on time, every time.

As a landlord, you can consider the benefits of offering incentives such as discounts to help their tenants pay rent early. This is likely to encourage more people to pay on time, which can help landlords avoid the stress and costs of chasing up late payers.

In fact, by giving them an opportunity to establish good payment habits, the incentive would ultimately benefit both parties.

4. Charge a fee for late rent payment

You can decide to charge a fee for late rent payment to motivate defaulting tenants. However, you must make sure your tenants understand your terms by having it written into the tenant agreement.

By law, you must tell tenants upfront what the conditions of their tenancy agreement are, including any fees associated with it. You must provide this information in writing and make certain they have signed and received a copy of this information.

5. Get Insurance

Insurance makes life easier for landlords – because it puts an end to rent arrears and rent defaults, the two biggest time-consuming and, often, stressful issues that come with being a landlord.

It eliminates a lot of stress, knowing that your income is protected against surprising circumstances. It’s important to get coverage that relieves you from financial risk while maintaining your tenant relationships.

Conclusion

Most landlords would agree; it can be a challenge finding the right tenant for your property. It’s also important to establish trust, respect and good communication with your tenants so that you together can ensure a good tenancy. Follow the advice in this article, and you too can ensure you get good tenants.