The good, the bad and the ugly: How to avoid terrible tenants

Good tenants are a landlord’s dream, but bad tenants are a nightmare. They can pay their rent late (or not at all), damage your property, and be very hard to evict without a lot of hassle. It’s much better to avoid leasing your Mount Isa property to potential bad tenants in the first place.

Here are our tips to help you do that, as well as advice on what to do if you already have bad tenants.

Tip 1: Hire an experienced local property manager

An experienced Mount Isa property management team like our staff at Jays Real Estate will screen your tenant applications by:

  • getting proof of identification and income.
  • checking references that they supply from their previous landlords, current employer, and personal referees.
  • checking State and national tenancy databases to check if your potential Mt Isa tenants have any issues based on their rental history (for example, rent payment or property issues).
  • interviewing them and asking relevant questions to assess their character.

This tenant screening process can save you a lot of time and hassle. Property managers screen tenants for a living, so they know the red flags to look out for.

Besides tenant screening, other valuable services that a property manager will provide for your rental property include:

  • tenant communication.
  • the collection of tenant rent.
  • conducting regular inspections to make sure that your Mount Isa tenants are looking after your property.
  • organising necessary repairs and maintenance of your property that are authorised by you.

Like the tenant screening process, these additional property management services will save you a lot of time and hassle.

Tip 2: Buy a higher value property

If you’re looking to get into the Mount Isa investment property market and you haven’t bought yet, buy a property that’s in the mid to upper price brackets. If you buy a higher value property, you’ll be able to charge higher rent. This can immediately rule out applications from tenants who won’t be able to afford to pay you on time.

Tip 3: Look after your good tenants!

When you find good tenants for your Mount Isa investment property, make sure you (or your property management team) look after them by ensuring that any repairs and maintenance issues are quickly resolved. This will make it much more likely that they’ll renew their leases when the time comes.

What to do if you have bad tenants

If you’re already in the situation where you have bad Mount Isa tenants (and you don’t have a property manager to deal effectively with them), here are some things you can do:

  • make sure you understand your legal rights and responsibilities as a landlord in Queensland.
  • make sure you understand the terms and conditions of your investment property’s rental agreement so you can identify if your tenants have breached the agreement.
  • communicate with your tenants to try and resolve the issues as calmly and logically as possible.
  • if amicable communication doesn’t resolve the issue, you can escalate it by issuing a breach notice
  • apply to have your dispute resolved by the Residential Tenancies Authority.
  • if all other avenues fail, you can issue a notice to leave to evict your tenant.

As you can see, avoiding bad tenants in the first place and having a property manager in place can save you a lot of potential headaches!

About Us

Jays Real Estate has been Mount Isa’s premier residential and commercial real estate agency since 1981.

If you need Mount Isa property management services, contact our team today for an obligation-free chat! We’d be happy to provide you with advice and to answer any questions you have.