After owning rental properties for a short while, you'll appreciate a great tenant. Great tenants are the type you want to keep. After all, they pay their rent and abide by the information in the lease.
Unfortunately, some tenants are not great ones. Instead, they're the type that breaks lease rules. As a result, you'll need to have clear lease enforcement guidelines.
Enforcing the lease isn't the best part of a landlord's job. However, it's a necessary one. Continue reading to learn more about lease enforcement.
What Is Lease Enforcement?
Lease enforcement is a term that refers to enforcing the rules of the lease. When a tenant moves in, you'll ask them to sign an apartment lease. This lease outlines your responsibilities and theirs.
The lease agreement guides your tenants. It tells them when to pay their rent and how much they owe. It talks about noise, parking, and much more.
Lease violations occur when a tenant does not follow something stated in the lease. As the landlord, enforcing the lease means addressing these situations.
How Can You Minimize Problems?
You can minimize lease violations by taking the right steps. First, start with a thorough lease. Your lease rules must follow landlord-tenant laws in Michigan, but you can customize it to fit your needs.
Starting with an effective lease is one way to reduce problems. However, you must also search for the best tenants. One characteristic of a great tenant is that they follow the rules.
Great tenants are less likely to violate the lease. Therefore, having great tenants reduces your need to enforce lease violations.
Performing property inspections provides a way to catch problems at an early stage. Doing this is another way to minimize problems.
You may also want to consider allowing pets. If you allow them, you can charge an extra security deposit fee. By allowing them, you can minimize the number of pet violations you experience with tenants.
What Steps Should You Take?
When you experience a lease violation, send a written notice to the tenant. Address the violation and state your expectations.
If the tenant does not comply, you can take further action through eviction. Of course, you must understand tenant rights. There are things you cannot do as a landlord.
For example, you must notify a tenant if you want to remove them from a unit. Locking them out of a unit might be tempting, but it's also illegal.
You may worry about vacancy rates if you have too many evictions.
However, you can then focus on the importance of excellent tenant selection. This process may reduce the number of evictions and lease violations you experience.
Talk to a Property Manager About Lease Enforcement
Are you struggling with lease enforcement in Flint, MI? If so, get help.
Property management firms can handle these tasks. They can also handle others.
You can reap many benefits by hiring a professional to take over some of your landlord duties.
PMI Mid Michigan is locally owned and operated. We specialize in property management services you can trust. We offer real-time updates to owners and aim to maximize your profits.
Reach out today to learn more!
