6 Common Landlord-Tenant Issues (+How to Solve Them)

Everyone dreams of having a property filled with perfect tenants.

And while most tenants are typically a pleasure to have, some…

Well, let’s just say you wish you hadn’t. 

When it comes to managing a rental property, there are all kinds of tenant-related issues that can pop up.

Some, however, are more common or problematic than others.

Below, we’ll be covering 6 of the most common tenant issues.

We’ll also cover some ways to fix those issues or, if that’s not possible, avoid them happening again in the future (sometimes, prevention is all you can do). 

Here they are:

6 Common tenant issues

These are 6 of the most common tenant-related issues, along with ways to fix or avoid them:

1. Noisy tenant

A relatively low-impact but common issue, noisy tenants can negatively impact the living experience of other tenants around them.

So, while it’s not on the level of an eviction or missing rent payments, it is still an issue you want to handle as soon as possible.

This becomes more complicated, however, if the person complaining about your noisy tenant isn’t a tenant of your property. 

If that’s the case, there isn’t much you can do besides speaking directly with the tenant themselves.

However, if the complaints are coming from within your property, you have a few more options.

What to do about it: 

Remind all tenants of any noise or similar disruption-related clause in your lease agreement, or add it to your agreement first if you didn’t already have something like that in it. 

2. Squatting

Now we jump from a relatively minor issue to a major one.

Squatting is when a tenant remains on a property after their lease ends or they stop paying rent.

It’s a difficult situation to deal with because you can’t just tell them to get out.

You need to be careful to check your local state and city laws before taking any action whatsoever.

That’s because a wrong move could land you in trouble, instead of the other way around. 

What to do about it: 

Check your local state and municipal laws or hire a landlord-tenant lawyer to assist. 

Once you know what you can and cannot do and you’ve tried sufficiently to communicate with the tenant to no avail, deliver an eviction notice. 

3. Not following the rules

Sometimes, you end up with a tenant that just doesn’t like following the rules.

This could include anything stipulated in your lease agreement as well as other rules stated verbally or in signs around the property. 

This kind of tenant can not only disrupt the living environment for your other tenants but also cause you a fair bit of headache.

What to do about it: 

The problem all depends on if you stated the rule within your lease agreement or not. 

Regardless, the one thing you don’t want to do is try and chase them down.

If you need to add an amendment to your lease agreement, do so and then announce the amendment to the entire property.

If you already have it stipulated, make an announcement reminding tenants of the rule and what the repercussion will be for non-compliance. 

If they still don’t listen, it’s important to take action so that you know you’re being serious.

4. Consistently paying late

One of the more annoying items on this list, tenants that consistently pay late– even eating your late fees on a regular basis– seem impossible to deal with. 

And while there are a number of reasons why a tenant may need to pay late, it’s important that they know they need to uphold their responsibility regardless.

What to do about it: 

Always start by reaching out first. Maybe they’re having a hard time and they just need you to speak with them to know that while you understand their situation, you’re serious about getting rent in on time moving forward.

If you’ve done that and they’re still paying late, you may need to look into your local eviction laws to see what options you have. 

Moving forward, a more thorough screening process can help catch these potential issues far in advance.

5. Property damage

While you should be taking a security deposit with every tenant, the occasional tenant will pay no mind to taking care of your property.

As a result, you’ll end up with more than just a little property damage, and potentially more than their security deposit will cover.

Fortunately, this is one of the easier issues to deal with as long as you take the right precautions. 

What to do about it: 

Four things you can do:

• Take an ample security deposit when signing the lease
• Inspect the unit with the tenant upon move-in as well as upon moving out
• Do quarterly or biannual inspections to catch issues early
• Get insurance to handle inordinate property damage from tenants

6. Lawsuits and legal trouble

There are a number of different types of lawsuits and legal troubles you can get into with tenants, including:

• Property damage lawsuit
• Eviction lawsuit
• Discrimination suit
• And more

In every case, lawsuits and legal trouble of all kinds are costly and time-consuming.

Not to mention stressful.

What to do about it: 

Start by studying your local landlord-tenant laws as each state and even county can be different. 

The better you understand your local laws, the better you’ll understand your options. 

Also, consider hiring a landlord-tenant attorney to help you navigate the lawsuit or at least get a consultation to find out what their opinion is regarding the action you should take.

Tenant Screening

There’s one tool we didn’t mention much throughout this guide but which helps avoid 100% of the issues mentioned in this list:

Tenant screening.  

Want to avoid potential squatters?

Run an eviction check when accepting applications.

Don’t want tenants who pay late?

Get a credit and bankruptcy check done to make sure the tenants you’re accepting show financial responsibility. 

Throw in a detailed background check and you’ve got a thorough process for finding high-quality tenants.

That would all be pretty complicated to orchestrate for every single applicant. 

Fortunately, with DoorLoop’s tenant screening tools, you can easily get:

• A thorough background check
• Bankruptcy check
• Credit check
• And eviction report

All in one convenient report. 

So, if you’re looking to avoid future tenant issues and improve the quality of your tenants, schedule a demo to see what DoorLoop’s tenant screening tools can do for you.

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