As a landlord, you do have to be strict with your tenants. Some things can get out of hand if you are too lenient with them. You have to set rules to avoid disorder. This is also why you should conduct a thorough tenant screening before letting them rent your property. With all your restrictions and monitoring, when is it considered too much?

Before you create that property listing at Padleads and syndicate it to other websites, you should know your limitations as a landlord. Yes, you still have limitations, and you must avoid these things for the good of your business.

Contacting tenants while they are at work

You probably have all your tenants’ contact numbers, including their work phones, and that is normal because you have to have options on how to contact them if needed. However, you should refrain from getting a hold of your tenants during their working hours unless necessary.

Some workplaces have a strict policy on taking personal calls, and if you constantly call them while they are at work, they might get in trouble or worse, lose their job. How are they going to pay for rent if that happens?

Sharing their information

The information given to you by your tenants should always be kept confidential. It does not mean that because they gave it to you willingly, you can share it with other people. You also have to respect their privacy.

You can give out some of the information if needed. They might be applying for a loan, and the bank may contact you for some verification. If this happens, make sure that you let your tenants know. Some landlords like to be careful with this so they require signed consent from the tenants.

Harassment

Harassment in all forms is a big no-no. Verbally harassing your tenants is not a professional way to call them out for any lease violations. You can send them a notice or talk to them calmly.

Avoid making them uncomfortable particularly with women. Sometimes you might not intend to harass someone but it is still something you should avoid. A harmless joke might have a different meaning to some people, and they could consider it as harassment. They could file a case against you for your actions.

Having them under surveillance

There are instances that you might have to monitor a tenant because of some suspicious activities. However, you should be cautious in doing your investigation because they might consider it an invasion of their privacy.

You should follow the appropriate steps if you think your tenant is doing something that breaches your contract. If you have security cameras, they should only be situated in common areas and not in their private rooms. They should also be aware of where the security cameras are and your reason for installing them.

Changing the locks on their units

If your tenant fails to pay their rent on time, you should not resort to changing their locks so they would not be able to get inside their houses. That is just plain cruel, and you should never do that.

You should not also turn off their electricity or water supply, just to drive them out of the property. There is a correct process in evicting tenants and you should follow that.

When you have a business of renting out your properties, you have to be aware of your actions too. The lease agreement involves you and the tenant, so both parties must adhere to the rules. There should always be mutual respect.