1. Absentee Landlord
While it’s important for a new tenant to know that they’ll get plenty of privacy from their landlord, it’s also important to make sure your future landlord takes the time to check in on the properties every once in a while. “I had no idea it was in this condition,” isn’t a good thing to hear when you’re checking out an apartment for the first time. The landlord should have an idea of the condition of each of the properties before showing them to prospective renters. This shows that they care enough about your future living conditions to set you up with a nice apartment and not a place that’s so run down it’s uninhabitable.
2. New Neighbor Landlord
Just as you’ll want to steer clear of a landlord who’s never around, you’ll also want to avoid signing a lease with a landlord that seems to be too involved. Landlords who live nearby may find it easier to pop in on their tenants than to follow the proper procedures of giving advanced notice. Though there are laws protecting tenants from unannounced visits by the landlord, it may be difficult to keep a clear line between landlord and neighbor if the two are the same.
3. The Landlord Who Doesn’t Know Their Properties
When looking over a new apartment, the landlord should be able to answer most questions about the place. Though some questions, such as the exact dimensions of each of the rooms, may be too specific for a landlord to know off the top of his head, the answers to these kinds of questions should be delivered to a prospective tenant without any undue hassle. A landlord who doesn’t know their properties may have too many to keep track of or may be too poorly organized to work as an effective and efficient manager.
4. The Hard-sell Landlord
While a hard-sell may be an effective technique at a retail store, a tenant should never feel pressured to sign a lease he’s not comfortable with. The tenant should be able to take a good look at the property, carefully read through the lease and discuss any questions that arise with the landlord. Landlords that try to push a tenant to sign may be trying to slide something past the tenant that the tenant wouldn’t agree to. The relationship between landlord and tenant will last a long time, so it’s important to feel comfortable discussing the business side of leasing with the landlord, without feeling pressure to rent a place immediately.
5. The Uncaring Landlord
If you’re looking over a property and you point out something that needs to be fixed, the landlord should be responsive to your request. A landlord that dismisses your concern without a second thought will likely do the same when it comes time to fix something that breaks. By law, an apartment needs to be in good working order before it is rented to a new tenant and a landlord that seems willing to let things slide from the beginning may try to brush off their other responsibilities as well.
Warning signs that your landlord might be a problem
Background check your landlord before you sign the lease
What to do about a bad landlord
Have you had to deal with a problem landlord? Tell us how you dealt with it here or on Facebook!
The link for background check your landlord before signing isn’t working – how can I do a background check of my landlord?
Hi Jim,
Thanks for letting us know — it should be working now. If you’re still having trouble with it, the site is http://www.checkyourlandlord.com. Thanks again!
Julia
Usually I do not learn post on blogs, but I would like to say that this write-up very forced me to try and do it! Your writing taste has been amazed me. Thanks, quite great article.
Make sure your landlord has met you, discusses your concerns, follows through and does not try to gouge you when things need replacing or fixed. I have had this happen to me and it is very difficult
Thank you for sharing, this is great advice! Were you able to clear everything up with your landlord eventually?
Julia
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This is an interesting issue. There are some very reabtpule agents such as Northwood Uk who guarantee rents by renting the property directly and then renting to tenants. The landlord wins by negating void periods and arrears. This is a service which offers peace of mind.However, their scheme is completely transparent. Renting a property to someone who then sublets rooms is very risky and should be avoided as usually these tenants will not be one household and HMO regs may come into play. Remember its the landlords responsibility to be licensed. It also impacts on wear and tear and its hard to keep track of who is actually living their as such tenants are usually transient. This may prove an issue if the agent ceases trading and you require possession. Further, it may impact on your insurance and any lease. The key issue is the relationship with the agent. They have a duty of care to seek the best possible price for their client and provide best advice. The terms of their contract with you is important. In this case, the agent should have offered the client best advice on how to generate the best rent. It would be interesting to see what the average market rent was for the property so as gauge whether the agent has undervalued or simply exploited an opportunity. Whichever proves to be the case 40% seems unbelievable. Usually the sum of the rooms rented separately rarely exceeds the total rent as one property by more than 10-15%. If the property was indeed undervalued then I suspect its a matter for trading standards however in my experience landlords usually have a pretty good idea of values and I suspect this agent is profiteering from an angle’ or has found a very gullible tenant! Nevertheless, the client should benefit not the agent.
Hi — thanks for your insight, this is great information. Finding and leasing an apartment can be complicated, and it’s very important to know your rights. Feel free to share any other tips or advice you may have!
Julia
MyNewPlace.com
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