Tenants and Landlords Can Have a Good Relationship

Congratulations, you found the perfect place to live and are ready to move in. Start off right so you and your landlord can have a good relationship.

1 - Do a walk-through right away and let the landlord know of any existing issues and damages.  Take photos for record keeping.This will be kept in your file and can be looked at when you move out.

2 - The landlord should tell you all the important information about your home. If they don't, you should ask how the heating/ac, sprinklers, alarm, and other appliances work.  Talk about utilities and any other fees that are required.

3 - You should know how to get in touch with your landlord if you have any maintenance issues or questions. For example, at Jevons Property Management each of our clients can set up a tenant portal at our website. This allows our tenants to create a work order online that our maintenance department sees immediately and for paying rent.  We have office hours for a tenant to call or stop by and an after hours emergency line.

4 - Please pay your rent on time.  If something happens and you can't then let the landlord know right away.  Landlords don't want to evict good, honest, well meaning tenants.  The best outcome is to communicate to your landlord what is going on and design a plan together.

5 - Try to take care of small issues yourself.  Tenants are responsible for replacing batteries and light bulbs and cleaning out heating/ac filters.  When big issues arise use the proper maintenance procedure that they landlord told you about.  Be specific with what the problem is and share photos if necessary.  Good, reputable landlords want to handle work orders in a timely manner. 

Tenants and landlords can have a good relationship if both parties communicate with each other.  If both people are respectful, honest, and remember that there is a real person on the other end your rental experience should be a good one.