No matter how careful a property manager is with your tenant selection, there is a reasonable chance that you will have a circumstance where your tenant breaches the terms and conditions of their lease at least once during your lifetime as a landlord.
In those cases, proper procedure must be followed to ensure compliance with the Residential Tenancies Act as well as making sure you achieve the best outcome for you and your property.
Typical Breaches Include:
- Rent Arrears
- Malicious damage to your property
- Illegal use of your property
- Having pets in the property when they are not permitted in the lease
- Having more people live in the property than are registered on the lease
- Carrying out alterations to the property without landlord consent
- Use of the property not permitted according to the lease (e.g. parking cars on lawns etc)
Rent arrears are easily the most common form of breach and can come about for many different reasons. You may have the best tenants in the world, but even their circumstances can change in an instant. Loss of employment, relationship break ups and illness or accident can all lead to your tenant falling into arrears.
If a compromise through negotiation cannot be reached with your tenant regarding a breach or they are simply not willing to cooperate, it is important to handle all communication and notices in a business-like manner and follow the Residential Tenancies Act to the letter.
It is best to stay emotionally detached and not become upset by what is taking place. This can lead to the wrong reactions by all parties and a poor outcome for you as the landlord.
It is certainly a good trait to be a compassionate person but at the end of the day, there are times when no matter how much you do to assist your tenant, it is just not going to work and you will need to move them on.
Some breaches of lease will end up with the landlord being out of pocket either for loss of rent or repairs to their property. You will of course have the bond to apply for to cover these costs, but in some cases especially for lengthy negotiations, the amount held in bond will not be enough to cover the costs. In those cases, you can recover the costs from your Landlord insurance policy.
As always, make sure your landlord insurance is up to date and then no matter what happens, you can rest easy knowing that you are covered for any losses.