Congratulations! You have entered the world of property owners and are now ready to manage your very first rental property.

The best part is that you do not have to immediately search for tenants as the property is already being rented out.

This means that you do not have to worry about the property being vacant and can begin collecting rent right away.

However, if you are the sole property manager for that property, it may be a good idea to get off on the right foot with your tenants.

One of the best ways to do this is by sending a landlord introduction letter to your tenants.

Not sure what a new landlord introduction letter is or what to include? No worries.

In this guide, we will be going over what landlord introduction letters are, the benefits of sending them, and what to include in one.

So, to get started, let's go over what exactly a landlord introduction letter is.

What is a Landlord Introduction Letter?

As mentioned before, it is always a good idea to start things off nicely if you are taking over as the new landlord on a rental property. This is especially true if you are independent of a property management company. This means that you will be managing the property on your own and will not be using the services of any property management company.

In these cases, it is essential to send some sort of introduction letter to your new tenants. There is a lot of information that should be included in this letter, most of which has to do with the new landlord contact information and an update on where to send the monthly rent payment.

Another purpose of this letter is to ensure the existing tenants have peace of mind and that the new property manager is making a positive first impression. This introduction also serves to notify tenants that their living situation is not at risk and that their month-to-month lease agreement will not be changing.

Before getting into the actual introduction letter, let's go over the course of action that a landlord should take if they want to terminate the existing lease.

What if the Landlord Wants to Terminate the Existing Lease

In some cases, the new landlord may have an interest in terminating the existing lease. This could be for many reasons, like wanting to renovate the property.

In this case, the landlord has to be very careful with how they handle the existing tenants. This is because the tenants still have the legal right to adhere to the current lease terms. So, the best course of action completely depends on the kind of lease that the tenants currently have.

If the tenants currently have a fixed-term lease, the best course of action is probably to just let it expire. Once it is about to expire, it is important to inform the tenant that they will not be able to renew the lease with a letter of non-renewal.

However, there are also ways to legally terminate the lease if both parties agree. This means that if you can provide enough incentive to the tenant, they can agree to end the lease early. These incentives can include things like covering moving costs or giving a discount on rent.

Also, if the tenants are under a month-to-month lease, there are fewer protections to their lease. This means that it would be far easier to terminate this lease early than it will be to terminate a yearly lease. The landlord must also refer to any local laws that dictate how evictions must be handled. This is because there are some states that prohibit certain types of evictions. Thus, an unlawful eviction can lead to a hefty lawsuit.

Why Send a New Landlord Introduction Letter?

Although we slightly went over some of the reasons why you should always send an introduction letter,  there are still some others that we have not discussed.

Below, we have listed some of the most important reasons why you should send an introduction letter to the tenants currently living at the property.

Introduction of New Management

The most obvious reason why a new landlord should send an introduction letter to the current tenant. This is especially important if you are not part of the same management company as the previous landlord.

In this section, you should also include your contact information that the tenant can use to contact you, including your phone number and email address. This is essential because they must know who to contact with any questions or concerns about the property or lease.

Redirect Rent Payments

Another very important reason to send out an introduction letter is to inform the tenants about where to send the monthly rent. Since paying rent is what keeps landlords afloat, it is essential that the tenants are informed about where to send the rent payments.

Also, if the landlord uses some sort of property management software, it is important that the tenant knows as well. This is because landlords will commonly collect rent through this software. Thus, the tenant must know where and when to send the payments.

Explain Maintenance Requests

One of the other reasons to send out a landlord introduction letter is to inform your tenants about the maintenance requests system. Since the previous landlord may have had a different system for dealing with maintenance requests, it is important that the tenants know about your way.

Also, it is good to allow the tenants to inform you about any pending maintenance requests. This way, the new landlord knows about what already needs to be done on the property and can begin to take care of them.

Tenant Update Form

Apart from providing your own contact information, you should also give the tenants an opportunity to provide their own contact information. For this reason, you should always include a tenant update form.

This tenant information form allows the tenant to send in all relevant information about themselves and the property. This could include contact details, emergency contact details, employment information, and information about vehicles.

Property Inspection

If you are planning on conducting some sort of inspection of the property, it is important to include details. You can include this section in the tenant update form in order to coordinate with the tenants. This way, apart from inspecting the property, you get a chance to get to know your renters personally and address any pressing concerns.

When meeting them personally, it is also a great time to teach them about any property management software. You can lead the tenants through how to use the software and how to pay rent and submit maintenance requests.

Verify Tenant Lease Information

Another very important section to include in the landlord introduction letter covers information about the tenant's lease agreement. It is important to verify the information contained in the lease with the tenants.

Some of the information that should be confirmed with the letter include:

• Names of the tenants
• Employment statuses
• Vehicle information for all tenants
• Contact information

The terms of the lease agreement should also be confirmed, including:

• Monthly rent
• Appliance rent
• Any fees applicable
• Lease expiration date

It is essential that all of this information is confirmed because it is very important in many situations.

Once you have included all of this information in the letter, you are ready to send it out. Depending on the circumstances, you can either mail the letter out to the tenants or hand it to them yourself. Handing in the letter yourself can be a nice touch as you can quickly get to know more about the tenants face-to-face.

Want access to a template for a new landlord introduction letter? Download the landlord introduction letter or browse all our resources.

Conclusion

In conclusion, providing a new landlord letter is a great way to get things started well with new tenants. It allows them to feel safe and secure about their living arrangements and also straightens out any possible issues. Thus, if you haven't already, make sure to write your tenants a nice letter, you won't regret it.