How To Enforce Rules When Managing Your Rental Property

When managing a rental property, it can be difficult to enforce your rules if you’re not living there or close by, yet these rules are integral to the safety of your property, your residents, and yourself. You put rules in place for a reason, after all! Now, how do you go about enforcing them once your tenants are on their own? Here are the best ways that you can do so while managing your own rental properties.

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Write Rules in the Lease

One of the most important ways you can and should enforce rules when managing your rental property is to write it in the lease that your tenant then reads and signs. All important rules must be written down as they set the tenants’ expectations before signing and seeing if your property aligns with their lifestyle, but it also gives you the opportunity to take legal action if absolutely necessary. If rules are unwritten and only verbally communicated, you have no legal ground to stand on, plus it can be forgotten by the tenant, whether intentionally or not.

Communicate Clearly

You should also communicate these rules clearly with your tenants before and after they move in. Explain why these rules are in place and that they protect not only you but them as well. While they are now written in the lease, it helps that you continue to make your tenants aware of the rules in case they happen to skim over it. This should be a conversation between you and your tenant so you can answer any questions they may have if rules were written in a confusing manner or do not go into detail. These questions are also great for you so you know how to refine your leases for the future!

From here, you can also tell them how they will be penalized if they were to violate the rules, whether it be a fine, loss of amenities or some other type of punishment. When you speak to your renters, make sure you are always very respectful. Mutual respect is essential in property management.

Lastly, follow up important conversations like these with an email so that there is a paper trail ensuring the tenants are aware of any policies and penalties.

Conduct Check-Ins

As a landlord, you should conduct regular check-ins with your tenants already to ensure the property is safe and has no damages or malfunctioning appliances. However, you should also be on the lookout for any violations according to your lease, such as changing the floors, unapproved pets, and maintenance required by the tenants. Inspect each property equally and with a careful eye so that you do not miss anything.

Always make sure that you follow your state and city laws when conducting check-ins. Renters should always be aware of an inspection and it is your right to do one whenever you would like, even if they are not happy about it. To ease your tenants’ minds, insist that check-ins are a regular part of the property management process, which they are! They have not done anything wrong unless you happen to see otherwise.

Open-Door Policy

Whether you have an actual door that your tenants can come to or not, you should have some sort of open-door policy so they can address any and all concerns with you. If you have noise policies in effect, tenants should be able to come to you, anonymously or not, to express their concerns about a neighbor not following the policies. If your property is smoke-free and they smell smoke, they can do the same thing.

You can enact this open-door policy by quickly responding to texts and emails, making a suggestion box on your property, or creating an anonymous tip line where people can send their concerns, though you should never give out anyone’s name regardless of whether they sent it anonymously or not. Safety really is your top priority and you do not want to put anyone in harm’s way by breaking anonymity.

Hire a Property Manager

Lastly, if you have too many properties to properly communicate with each tenant and conduct check-ins, it may be helpful to hire a property manager. They can be your right-hand man and split the responsibilities necessary to manage your property. Find someone responsible who you can trust to follow through and ensure all policies are being followed.

By following these steps, you can enforce your rules to the best of your ability. While violations may still happen, you have done everything you can to protect your property. Don’t forget to stick to your word on following through with any penalties so your tenants can know just how important these rules are to everyone involved. As always, deal with your tenants respectfully, even if they happen to violate one of your rules.