'Good communications' can help landlords avoid disputes with tenants
Posted by Jane Codling
Landlords and residential lettings agents should try to maintain good communication with tenants in order to avoid disputes should they fall into arrears.
With demand for rented properties at all-time highs, landlords are profiting from soaring rents.
However, this, combined with the uncertain economical situation, could also mean that there is a greater chance of tenants struggling to make ends meet and falling behind with their rent.
According to Carolyn Uphill, director of the National Landlords Association (NLA), should this happen, landlords should try to resolve the issue by discussing it with the tenant before resorting to more serious action.
Maintaining a good relationship from the start of the tenancy will make this easier, she said.
Writing in a post for the NLA blog, the expert commented: "Good communications, built right from the start of the relationship with your tenant, may help to resolve any problem which arises."
Taking the matter to court should always be a last resort.
"This will take time, indeed the closure of some county courts will make this slow process take even longer, and involve the landlord in extra costs whilst rent remains unpaid."
However, while landlords should not harass, threaten or intimidate tenants, they may find it necessary to be firm with them when chasing unpaid rent.
"It is always the case, just as in business, that he who shouts loudest is more likely to be paid. So be firm but polite, enquire if there is a problem, offer to discuss and/or help with this as appropriate," advised Ms Uphill.
To minimise the risk of a tenant falling into arrears, landlords can use tenant referencing services, which will give them an indication of their financial and employment situation.
"Just as a business takes up trade references, you should not let anyone into your property without fully referencing them and establishing that the property is affordable to them within their income bracket," said Ms Uphill.
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