It's right there on my to-do list: Need to come up with a system for addressing lease violations without drama and negative energy.
As I revamp the way our business does Property Management, I've been thinking – and writing – about Systems. Systems are what successful businesses are made of. Last week's post was about Rent Collections – a system that has worked beautifully this first month of implementation! Read it here: http://thisgingerjustsnapped.weebly.com/blog/rent-collections-a-system
That system was designed to automate the unpleasant task of delinquent rent collections, taking my emotions out of it. It's still not my favorite activity, but now I look at it as just another work task, like filing or accounting. And I'm less likely to put it off. Procrastination and avoidance was costing my company money, and that is not allowed!
Now another of my least favorite rental management tasks is screaming out for a system. This one's a little trickier – Lease Violations can happen at any time, usually when it's least convenient. They interrupt my work flow at best. At worst, they cut into my family time! At least with delinquent rents, the timeline is constant. I know I only have to worry about those on the 6th of the month. I can set aside time that day to deal with them. Lease violations slap me upside the head when I'm trying to meet an accounting deadline, or pull everything together for my daughter's birthday party.
As a result, Lease Violations create a lot of resentment in Yours Truly. Their unplanned appearances dilute my concentration on the task at hand, threatening my carefully balanced schedule. That alone puts me in the pissiest of moods – working Moms, especially working self-employed Moms, don't have enough time as it is, and now this Lease Violator is wasting it? I'm angry at the alleged violator, and I'm also angry at the messenger – the complaining neighbor, the handyman who caught it on his rounds, even my own husband.
Steve called me from the road as I was feverishly trying to finish up some paperwork while simultaneously cooking supper for our 7-year-old. He was livid at the 2nd floor tenants in one of the 6-units. There were old couches left on the side of the building they swore on Sunday would be gone. Instead, more garbage had joined them, and there was dog poop, too! Steve took pictures this time. How would I feel about printing up a full color Lease Violation?
Brilliant idea, I told him. BUT... if you want it delivered sooner than the end of next week, you're going to have to print it up and post it yourself, because my schedule is full.
Well he did print it up, and it was a work of art.
As I revamp the way our business does Property Management, I've been thinking – and writing – about Systems. Systems are what successful businesses are made of. Last week's post was about Rent Collections – a system that has worked beautifully this first month of implementation! Read it here: http://thisgingerjustsnapped.weebly.com/blog/rent-collections-a-system
That system was designed to automate the unpleasant task of delinquent rent collections, taking my emotions out of it. It's still not my favorite activity, but now I look at it as just another work task, like filing or accounting. And I'm less likely to put it off. Procrastination and avoidance was costing my company money, and that is not allowed!
Now another of my least favorite rental management tasks is screaming out for a system. This one's a little trickier – Lease Violations can happen at any time, usually when it's least convenient. They interrupt my work flow at best. At worst, they cut into my family time! At least with delinquent rents, the timeline is constant. I know I only have to worry about those on the 6th of the month. I can set aside time that day to deal with them. Lease violations slap me upside the head when I'm trying to meet an accounting deadline, or pull everything together for my daughter's birthday party.
As a result, Lease Violations create a lot of resentment in Yours Truly. Their unplanned appearances dilute my concentration on the task at hand, threatening my carefully balanced schedule. That alone puts me in the pissiest of moods – working Moms, especially working self-employed Moms, don't have enough time as it is, and now this Lease Violator is wasting it? I'm angry at the alleged violator, and I'm also angry at the messenger – the complaining neighbor, the handyman who caught it on his rounds, even my own husband.
Steve called me from the road as I was feverishly trying to finish up some paperwork while simultaneously cooking supper for our 7-year-old. He was livid at the 2nd floor tenants in one of the 6-units. There were old couches left on the side of the building they swore on Sunday would be gone. Instead, more garbage had joined them, and there was dog poop, too! Steve took pictures this time. How would I feel about printing up a full color Lease Violation?
Brilliant idea, I told him. BUT... if you want it delivered sooner than the end of next week, you're going to have to print it up and post it yourself, because my schedule is full.
Well he did print it up, and it was a work of art.
This isn't his job, though. I am grateful he picked up the slack for me, because I probably would not have gotten to it for a week. I did not have a system in place to handle Lease Violations. Until now.
A Drama-Free System for Handing Out Lease Violation Notices
The first thing is to refer to that overused catch-phrase, “It is what it is.” Lease violations suck. They're never going to come at a convenient time to deal with them, so let's just accept that fact right now. Here is how I'm going to deal with them from now on.
When I am made aware of a Lease Violation, I will first consider the urgency of the situation. Is it dangerous to life or property? Does it have to be dealt with right this second, at 7 o'clock at night? Or can it wait until the next business day?
A complaining neighbor may believe a noisy Lease Violator has to be dealt with this very minute, but that is not true. In my lease, I actually have a clause about noise that instructs the offended tenant to attempt to reason with her noisy neighbor first, before calling management. 9 out of 10 noise complaints are from people who did not do that, and have no intention of doing that. They hate confrontation just as much as I do, I get it. But that doesn't mean I have to stop cooking supper for my family. If it's a raging out of control party or fight I'll instruct the complainer to call the police and I'll put it on my agenda to deal with first thing in the morning. If it's something like a stereo or loud TV, I'll attempt a text and a phone call to the offender. If I don't get them, I leave a message and put it on my agenda to deal with it first thing in the morning. I'm not the Den Mother. I'm just the Landlord.
Active Lease Violations are priority and have to be dealt with as soon as possible during the business day. I will, to the best of my ability, make them my first order of business. But if I have a meeting scheduled or something that can't be comfortably moved, I'll get to them at my first availability. No stress.
The next thing I need to determine is how to communicate the Lease Violation. Is this a phone conversation or a written notice? With the noise violation, if I was unable to reach the offending tenant, I will send a written violation via mail. That will either result in an indignant “it wasn't me!” phone call, or else I will hear nothing and the tenant will be quieter in the future. Of course if it happens again, there will be a more sternly worded violation notice sent out with an instruction to call Management to discuss the issue within 24 hours. A third notice may require eviction proceedings, or if it's close to the end of the lease, a simple non-renewal notice.
Here are a few other real-life case studies:
#1 - Tenant with a history of garbage and dog poop has, once again, piled garbage on the side of the building and left dog poop on the ground. My husband's full-color pictorial made the perfect written lease violation notice. Because of the urgency of the situation (we wanted it cleaned up NOW) we posted this to their door rather than using the mail. This was effective. The stuff was gone within hours. I personally do not like to post doors, but I will if the offense is great enough. I also like to delegate this task – my husband can do it if he's going down that way anyway, or else I could assign that task to our handyman if I'm too busy or simply not in the right frame of mind for a confrontation. There's always a chance of confrontation if the tenant is home when you post the door.
Solution: Written notice, posted to the door as soon as possible.
#2- Neighbor calls up complaining about marijuana smell in the hallway, coming from the apartment of some college boys who just moved in downstairs. This is a sensitive situation that requires a personal visit to the accused. I need to make sure the complaining neighbor feels her concerns are heard, so I listen patiently, take notes, and tell her I will address it. Then I text and/or call the accused to say there is something I need to talk to them about, what would be a good time. If I get them live on the phone, I will probably address it right then and there, saving a trip. But today one usually gets voicemail, so an appointment will need to be made. In the case of the college boys, I met with them in their unit, and behind closed doors told them that I personally do not care what they smoke in the privacy of their own home, but that GPGH Management has a strict No Drugs policy, and if I get a complaint I need to act on it. So they need to do whatever they need to do to prevent any smell from reaching the hallway. And by the way they better not be doing anything stupid like dealing out of here, or else! Now they have an ionizer air cleaner in their living room and my hallway smells like Febreze. The complaints have stopped. Fair enough.
For those who think I'm being too liberal about marijuana, just be aware the police will do absolutely nothing about a reported marijuana smell. Except act really annoyed that you bothered them with this crap.
Solution: Personal conversation, preferably face-to-face. Written notice only required if appointment is avoided.
#3 – Tenant snuck in a dog, and presence of said dog has been verified by reliable sources. I consider this a serious violation. I allow pets in my building, but I have a very strict pet policy in the lease. Everybody initials the pet policy, even if they move in without pets. It states that pet rent is $50 extra per month, and if an undeclared pet is discovered that fee is retroactive to the beginning of the lease. In addition to pet rent, tenants must provide a veterinary reference, and agree to either medicate the pet with flea prevention or be responsible for any flea extermination expenses. In the case of dogs, they must also provide us with their renters' insurance policy information. These stipulations keep out most of the irresponsible pet owners while allowing those with “fur babies” a place to live with their companions. Someone sneaking a dog into one of my units is obviously not taking the responsibility of pet ownership seriously, and is not someone I want as a tenant.
Solution: Written notice of lease violation, including invoice for back “pet rent” mailed immediately via trackable US Mail (Certified or Priority) – the notice requires a response within 5 days or eviction proceedings will begin. Even if the tenant gets rid of the dog and pays the fine, I would not renew their lease. The only exception would be if they were truly contrite and immediately complied with our pet policy, including taking out a renters' policy on the dog and providing a veterinary reference. However, this has never happened.
Lease violations suck. But they're going to happen, and they need to be dealt with quickly and with as little drama and personalization as possible.
The good news is, you get a little smarter as a Landlord with each violation. My lease used to be six pages long. Everytime a tenant did something crazy, I added a clause specifically addressing the stupidity, everything from what happens if you sneak in a dog to what is and isn't appropriate to flush down the toilet. Now my lease is an 18 page masterpiece! With a space on each page for tenant initials, of course.
A Drama-Free System for Handing Out Lease Violation Notices
The first thing is to refer to that overused catch-phrase, “It is what it is.” Lease violations suck. They're never going to come at a convenient time to deal with them, so let's just accept that fact right now. Here is how I'm going to deal with them from now on.
When I am made aware of a Lease Violation, I will first consider the urgency of the situation. Is it dangerous to life or property? Does it have to be dealt with right this second, at 7 o'clock at night? Or can it wait until the next business day?
A complaining neighbor may believe a noisy Lease Violator has to be dealt with this very minute, but that is not true. In my lease, I actually have a clause about noise that instructs the offended tenant to attempt to reason with her noisy neighbor first, before calling management. 9 out of 10 noise complaints are from people who did not do that, and have no intention of doing that. They hate confrontation just as much as I do, I get it. But that doesn't mean I have to stop cooking supper for my family. If it's a raging out of control party or fight I'll instruct the complainer to call the police and I'll put it on my agenda to deal with first thing in the morning. If it's something like a stereo or loud TV, I'll attempt a text and a phone call to the offender. If I don't get them, I leave a message and put it on my agenda to deal with it first thing in the morning. I'm not the Den Mother. I'm just the Landlord.
Active Lease Violations are priority and have to be dealt with as soon as possible during the business day. I will, to the best of my ability, make them my first order of business. But if I have a meeting scheduled or something that can't be comfortably moved, I'll get to them at my first availability. No stress.
The next thing I need to determine is how to communicate the Lease Violation. Is this a phone conversation or a written notice? With the noise violation, if I was unable to reach the offending tenant, I will send a written violation via mail. That will either result in an indignant “it wasn't me!” phone call, or else I will hear nothing and the tenant will be quieter in the future. Of course if it happens again, there will be a more sternly worded violation notice sent out with an instruction to call Management to discuss the issue within 24 hours. A third notice may require eviction proceedings, or if it's close to the end of the lease, a simple non-renewal notice.
Here are a few other real-life case studies:
#1 - Tenant with a history of garbage and dog poop has, once again, piled garbage on the side of the building and left dog poop on the ground. My husband's full-color pictorial made the perfect written lease violation notice. Because of the urgency of the situation (we wanted it cleaned up NOW) we posted this to their door rather than using the mail. This was effective. The stuff was gone within hours. I personally do not like to post doors, but I will if the offense is great enough. I also like to delegate this task – my husband can do it if he's going down that way anyway, or else I could assign that task to our handyman if I'm too busy or simply not in the right frame of mind for a confrontation. There's always a chance of confrontation if the tenant is home when you post the door.
Solution: Written notice, posted to the door as soon as possible.
#2- Neighbor calls up complaining about marijuana smell in the hallway, coming from the apartment of some college boys who just moved in downstairs. This is a sensitive situation that requires a personal visit to the accused. I need to make sure the complaining neighbor feels her concerns are heard, so I listen patiently, take notes, and tell her I will address it. Then I text and/or call the accused to say there is something I need to talk to them about, what would be a good time. If I get them live on the phone, I will probably address it right then and there, saving a trip. But today one usually gets voicemail, so an appointment will need to be made. In the case of the college boys, I met with them in their unit, and behind closed doors told them that I personally do not care what they smoke in the privacy of their own home, but that GPGH Management has a strict No Drugs policy, and if I get a complaint I need to act on it. So they need to do whatever they need to do to prevent any smell from reaching the hallway. And by the way they better not be doing anything stupid like dealing out of here, or else! Now they have an ionizer air cleaner in their living room and my hallway smells like Febreze. The complaints have stopped. Fair enough.
For those who think I'm being too liberal about marijuana, just be aware the police will do absolutely nothing about a reported marijuana smell. Except act really annoyed that you bothered them with this crap.
Solution: Personal conversation, preferably face-to-face. Written notice only required if appointment is avoided.
#3 – Tenant snuck in a dog, and presence of said dog has been verified by reliable sources. I consider this a serious violation. I allow pets in my building, but I have a very strict pet policy in the lease. Everybody initials the pet policy, even if they move in without pets. It states that pet rent is $50 extra per month, and if an undeclared pet is discovered that fee is retroactive to the beginning of the lease. In addition to pet rent, tenants must provide a veterinary reference, and agree to either medicate the pet with flea prevention or be responsible for any flea extermination expenses. In the case of dogs, they must also provide us with their renters' insurance policy information. These stipulations keep out most of the irresponsible pet owners while allowing those with “fur babies” a place to live with their companions. Someone sneaking a dog into one of my units is obviously not taking the responsibility of pet ownership seriously, and is not someone I want as a tenant.
Solution: Written notice of lease violation, including invoice for back “pet rent” mailed immediately via trackable US Mail (Certified or Priority) – the notice requires a response within 5 days or eviction proceedings will begin. Even if the tenant gets rid of the dog and pays the fine, I would not renew their lease. The only exception would be if they were truly contrite and immediately complied with our pet policy, including taking out a renters' policy on the dog and providing a veterinary reference. However, this has never happened.
Lease violations suck. But they're going to happen, and they need to be dealt with quickly and with as little drama and personalization as possible.
The good news is, you get a little smarter as a Landlord with each violation. My lease used to be six pages long. Everytime a tenant did something crazy, I added a clause specifically addressing the stupidity, everything from what happens if you sneak in a dog to what is and isn't appropriate to flush down the toilet. Now my lease is an 18 page masterpiece! With a space on each page for tenant initials, of course.