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By Ashley Smith
Being a landlord presents many challenges, which require interaction and empathy with tenants, whilst also keeping an element of self-interest in mind too.
Owning a property is a financial burden on you and the return you take from it is crucial for your own quality of life. However, that must be offset with consideration around the tenant in your property, whose life you essentially cradle in your hands. There are plenty of reasons to try to be a good landlord, as we examined in our article ‘Benefits of Being a Good Landlord’, but it is not always going to be easy.
During the time of a national crisis, the responsibility that comes from owning someone else’s home is increased even more, and it might not be as easy to be a fair landlord, but it is in these times that it is even more important. With the current situation around the world, we felt it would be helpful to put together a guide on how you can be a good landlord right now and go over and above for your tenants, reaping benefits of goodwill further down the line.
Communicate
These are uncertain times we are living through and the constant flow of information and misinformation can leave people feeling bamboozled and confused. If you own a property, a single home or a building with apartments in it, make sure you have communicated well with your tenants.
It gives them a chance to relay their fears to you and potentially for you to react. For instance, if you have an apartment building, tenants might ask for hand wash facilities in communal areas, or to check with you about cleaning handrails and communal door handles. Likewise, you can deliver any information around social distancing too. If you communicate effectively, you can remove an element of worry for your tenants.
React Quickly
Perhaps more so than normal, reacting to basic repair requests or problems should be highlighted as urgent. A resident in one of your properties is at your behest when it comes to solving structural problems, some of which may impact their health at a time when many are at an increased risk.
As an example, if you received a report of mold or mildew in a property, it would be prudent to act as quickly as possible, more so than during normal times. An article on mold by HomeServe explains that it can potentially cause serious health problems, especially in these times of heightened risk. As a landlord, the responsibility of dealing with such an issue falls onto you. Whilst the occupant will take responsibility for the day to day cleaning of the property, any mold or structural issues causing hygiene problems is down to you to solve.
Be Lenient
Unemployment is on the rise and for many Americans covering household bills may become very tough indeed. As a landlord, you have it within your remit to give people who are struggling some breathing space, and if you communicate effectively you may find out tenants need that right now. As reported by the Financial Times, many lenders have offered mortgage breaks which in turn may give you the ability to accept structured payments, or even give your tenants a break on their rent payments to you.
The New York Times suggests that as many as ‘tens of millions’ of people could be under threat of eviction in the latter stages of 2020. As a good landlord, you must try as hard as you can to make sure that your tenants are not amongst those shocking figures.
Written by Ashley Smith, Exclusively for olddawgsreinetwork.com
