Tenants From Hell and How To Avoid Them

Please review this video and blog and feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments section below.

The vast majority of people who rent properties are good people who will respect both the law and your property but there will always be exceptions to the rule.

I’ve been a landlord since 1989 and I’ve produced this short video to share some tips that I’ve picked up on my journey as a landlord. If I’d have known back in 1989 what I know now I’d be 10’s of thousands better off.

1. Market your property early – at exchange or when a tenant serves notice
2. Market it on all the well know portals. There are several aggregators such as Discount Lettings, Letting Search, Upad and Rent on time who can help you with this.
3. Arrange block viewings.
4. Incentivise outgoing tenants to help you market the property by allowing viewings.
5. Advertise your property for slightly less than market rent, create competition and a bidding war for the property if you are overwhelmed with tenant applications for it.
6. Decide when you do block viewings which applicants you want to follow up and take their details
7. Call them the following day and arrange to meet them at their current home. Explain that you need them to complete an application form and that you will need to see their bank statements and proof of ID.
8. Don’t exclude pets unless your property is a leasehold which prohibits pets. This will put you in a much wider market as most landlords don’t even take a view. You can decide for yourself when you see them at their property.
9. When you meet with prospective tenants explain that they will need a guarantor.
10. When the application is completed take a small fee to cover referencing. I use Let Alliance to do my referencing as they have a very competitive package which includes referencing of guarantors and a comprehensive rent guarantee insurance policy
11. Prior to check in complete a detailed inventory complete with a video and ensure that tenants acknowledge these.
12. As extra backup you should also register the tenancy with Landlord Referencing services and TenantID. This is a free service. You can also check tenant applications for free against their databases. This is in addition to the referencing above as not all tenants are registered with them. To use this service I would advise you to make it a condition of the terms of the tenant application form for tenants to provide permission for you to register their details with these organisations.
13. Remember, it’s your property. If you can’t find a good tenant it’s probably because the property needs to be improved or you priced it too high. It’s always better to charge a bit less than to risk getting a bad tenant.

Mark Alexander
Mark and his family have been investing in property since 1989, initially in the Norwich area but more recently across the length and breadth of England. Mark created Property118.com as a social network for landlords with a vision of becoming the UK’s largest online property investor directory.
Mark’s experiences and strategies as a landlord are shared here

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