Improving your client/tenant relationships
Who hasn’t had a problem with a landlord before? A bad relationship with a landlord can leave you feeling salty at the best of times when you’re running a business, but what happens when you find yourself on the other side of the coin? Why can being a landlord sometimes feel like an uphill struggle?
Most problems tend to start as minor inconveniences which snowball over time. It could be something as simple as a leaky sink in the building and go all the way to someone refusing or unable to pay rent. So what can any landlord do to improve their relationships and ensure tenants can’t become a thorn in their side?
Thanks to some of the advice from experts at Ross & Liddell, who are managers for commercial properties, here are some of the simple ways you can improve any tenant relationship.
Assume no one wants to do the odd jobs
Let’s say your tenant is running a business which has a front entrance; something as simple as a big window looking in and maybe some greenery around the front. Now, while you’d assume the tenant will either clean the windows themselves or have a window cleaner come along and do it, how do you know who will be looking after the green stuff, or preventing weeds and such from creeping up from the ground?
When in doubt about any essential work or maintenance, have something in your contract which highlights explicitly what each party’s responsibilities are for maintaining different aspects of the property, and when it is fine to ask each other to cover a problem. It doesn’t have to be a line by line guide of every fixture and fitting insight, but it helps avoid either side dragging their heels.
Assume you’re both acting compliantly
Speaking of contracts and the rules, it is essential that both parties are always compliant with local health & safety regulations. You could have the best relationship with a tenant ever and get on well, letting them make changes to the buildings and such. It might not be the best idea, though, if you both run foul of local laws. A typical example of this would be commercial or retail tenants modifying property and accidentally breaking local fire regulations, especially when building outdoor dining/seating areas post-Covid.
Always get any plans checked by a third party to avoid legislative headaches further down the line.
Assume your tenant won’t pay rent
No matter how well you get on with a tenant, the subject of rent is always a dicey issue to discuss. I have seen many positive relationships turn sour because of late payments or bad habits of getting rent coming through on time.
It is more than a good idea to have rent and deposits go through a third party. Not only will it help keep your relationship in good standing, but if the company looking after rent is dependent on a percentage of it as their payment, they’re more likely to chase after payments without it eating up your time.
Assume that you’ll argue over stains
One more area to keep the relationship on terms again involves having someone else step in. Hire an inspector to be the one checking the property before, during and after a tenancy. They’ll be able to keep a thorough record of the condition of things, especially when it comes to surfaces and furniture, so you don’t have to find yourself squabbling over paying back only part of a deposit to cover cleaning up. It can literally often be the messiest things which snowball into arguments with tenants.
Assume you should always keep some distance
I hope you found this advice helpful, especially if you’re renting out commercial space for the first time. Just remember that as a landlord, you always have to have some distance with your tenants to show what they should take care of looking after your property.