A friend from church called me a while ago and asked if I was willing to rent to an elderly woman and her daughter at a reduced price. At the time, I had a duplex coming available and was in the position to help, so I agreed to rent it to the two women at a discounted rate. My goal in renting was to be Christ-like and offer a lower rent price as a way to serve this family. Unfortunately, the tenants were difficult to work with from the get-go. The older woman called me with a multitude of minor issues: lightbulbs that were burned out, paint chipping, faucets periodically dripping, etc. Both tenants asked for special favors: requesting a new microwave (when the original wasn’t broken) and wanting to change out other appliances.
One day, after months of these exchanges, the older woman called me and asked me to change some lightbulbs for her. At this point, I knew I needed to have a conversation with her to outline some clear boundaries. When we met, I respectfully explained that I would change her lightbulbs one last time, but that we needed to have a talk. During our discussion, I explained that she couldn’t have a premium-priced level of service when she was paying for a value-priced product. I then offered her three different options moving forward:
- I will not renew your lease when it expires.
- I will charge you about ⅓ more in rent to match the level of service you’re demanding.
- You stop calling me to fulfill tenant responsibilities, and you can stay at a reduced rent rate (I made it clear that I would continue making timely repairs on the property, but only if they fell under my responsibility as a landlord).
After outlining these three options, she never called me again about anything that was trivial.
The Lesson:
Obviously, some tenants are harder to please than others. Such customers will constantly gripe and complain no matter how nice the unit is-and the unit I rented to the two women was very nice (3 bedroom, 2 bath, private outdoor deck, included washer and dryer, etc.). Regardless of the circumstances, some tenants will simply not be satisfied.
As landlords, however, we have an ethical responsibility to take care of our tenants. This means making sure they’re comfortable, making necessary (and timely) repairs when things break, and ensuring that units are continually in good condition. I don’t think we should ever let any issue with a unit go unresolved. At the same time, we need to know when to draw the line with certain tenants. If healthy boundaries aren’t established early on, frustration and failure is much more likely.
Defining Healthy Boundaries:
I believe that we should always extend goodwill to our customers. Meaning, when a tenant has an issue or concern, we should show up in goodwill: intent on solving the problem and serving our customer with his or her best interest at heart. The problem occurs when goodwill results in a change in the scope of work indicated in the lease agreement. Back to my example, when I changed the older woman’s lightbulb for the first time, I failed to tell her it would be the only time. I was just as much to blame in our conflict. In hindsight, I should have told her that I was willing to change it once out of goodwill, but in the future, changing lightbulbs is a tenant responsibility and not a landlord responsibility.
When you’re faced with similar conflicts, I would encourage you to hold that tension in mind and ask yourself this question: can I operate out of goodwill and still remain within the scope of work I signed up for with my tenant? Again, we as landlords should be willing to help our tenants, but we should also honor the boundary between tenant and landlord responsibilities as outlined in lease agreements. If we don’t value our own time, our tenants won’t either.
Of course, there are some circumstances with particular tenants that require different boundaries. In the case of the older woman, it wasn’t that she didn’t have any help-her daughter could have easily fulfilled her minor requests. However, if the older woman had been living alone and was uncomfortable with changing her lightbulbs, I would have changed them with no problem. Therefore, there are some cases that may require boundary adjustments. If you take on tenants who are incapable of performing certain responsibilities, then your scope of work may increase, and you can manage your boundaries accordingly.
In Summary:
- Learn to recognize the difference between goodwill and scope change.
- Try to maintain a healthy, Christ-like attitude toward your tenants. Extend goodwill and have their best interest in mind.
- Be proactive in handling issues with units and/or tenants. Solve problems in a timely manner.
- Know when and how to draw lines with tenants. If you give away your time at no cost, your tenants are likely to spend it freely. Don’t be scared to say no if it’s necessary.