Managing Rentals: Best Practices for Landlord Success

Managing Rentals: Best Practices for Landlords and Property Managers. 

This blog emphasises the importance of establishing trust while prioritising fairness and consistency over control.

Episode 7 – Managing Rentals: Best Practices for Landlord Success

Landlord Tips: A Game-Changer: Reduce Stress and Hassle, Increase Profits

Managing Rentals – Here are six vital principles for fostering fair, transparent, and professional tenant relationships.

1️⃣ . Treat all tenants fairly and equally.

The same procedures should apply to your whole property portfolio, whether standalone or multi-dwelling.

Whatever your policy is for rent arrears, organising maintenance booking routine inspections. It should be consistent, with the same process followed every time.

2️⃣ Be transparent about all policies and procedures.

Transparency begins with new tenancies and the induction process.

It’s important to explain the procedure if a rent payment is missed, outline the expectations for completing an ingoing condition report, and clarify what will happen during routine inspections.

This upfront transparency helps prevent misunderstandings and demonstrates that you treat everyone equally.

3️⃣ Respond to maintenance requests in the order they are received.

It’s a straightforward but essential principle of fairness. Promptly addressing genuine maintenance requests is critical.

While actual emergencies, such as flooding or electrical hazards, take priority, adopting a first-come, first-served approach for standard maintenance shows respect for everyone’s time and needs.

4️⃣ Provide clear, written correspondence for all important discussions and outcomes.

Clear written communication is essential. It ensures everyone has a shared understanding and can refer to what was discussed or decided.

Written records help reduce misunderstandings, prevent ‘he said, she said’ situations, and maintain consistency.

Additionally, written communication creates a common reference point everyone can rely on, making it easier to uphold fairness and consistency.

5️⃣ Keep records of all significant communication and decisions to ensure accountability.

An important aspect of fairness and consistency is documenting all your interactions and decisions. Think of documentation as a transparent trail that anyone can follow.

When you document thoroughly, you’re not just recording what happened but building accountability into your process.

It’s essential to write down each decision, its reasons, and the factors that influenced it. Be sure to include dates, participants, and any relevant information.

6️⃣ Give ample notice to all tenants regarding any upcoming routine inspections.

Providing ample notice for routine inspections demonstrates respect for tenants.

The Residential Tenancies Act stipulates that landlords must give a minimum notice of 48 hours and a maximum of 14 days for inspections.

I prefer to schedule inspections with tenants and provide 10 to 14 days’ notice.

This approach gives tenants more time to prepare, resulting in more productive inspections and fewer conflicts. Clear communication regarding inspections reflects professionalism and fairness in property management.

Making life easier for landlords is our mission.