Being a landlord isn’t just about waiting for the next direct debit. There are a lot of things that landlords can do to master their art, benefiting themselves and their tenants in the process. These tips will help landlords to be great and enable tenants to choose the right person before signing their next rental agreement.
1. Offer more contact information
At the very least, all tenants should have a direct email address and phone number for their landlord. A great landlord provides them with a document containing all the information they need for all types of maintenance, including electrics, plumbing and gardening.
Having this information to hand means that the property will be better kept and any issues will be resolved quickly.
2. Protect against local crime
Landlords are often on neighbourhood watch and local police mailing lists. It’s important that any local occurrences of crime are reported to tenants, keeping them alert.
Property owners can also help their tenants by making sure the residence looks inhabited when people are on holiday and checking the property during the vacant period.
3. Knowing and understanding your rights
A good landlord will know their rights. A great landlord will understand them and help tenants to understand them. It’s like any good business agreement, everyone will be much more cooperative if they understand exactly what’s being asked of them.
It might mean setting up a phone call to discuss any misunderstood clauses.
4. Care about safety
It is surprising how many landlords don’t check fire alarms and carbon monoxide alarms before renting a room. They have a legal obligation to do so. If you are a landlord, find a local, reliable engineer to help with installations and record any issues.
If you are a tenant, while you’re checking the spring in the bed, storage and water pressure, make sure you check all fire alarms and exit points before signing a contract.
5. Meet face to face
Many landlords leave the formalities to letting agents. However, everyone knows that meeting people face to face strengthens any relationship. It will also help tenants to respect landlords and vice versa, having met the person that they’re entering into an agreement with.
A welcoming bottle of wine and a note from landlords is also a lovely gesture of thanks for the hard earned rent.
