“Laying Down the Law” might seem a bit extreme, but trust me when I say it is neither extreme nor sarcastic. This is serious business, and you have to take it seriously in order to protect yourself and your investment. Laying down the law essentially means enforcing the lease. There’s a reason you spent all that time, energy, and effort in ensuring you had a rock-solid lease in place for potential tenants, and this is it! Before we continue, keep in mind that if you’ve done your due diligence — a thorough screening process and minimum qualification standards — you’re much more likely to get good, responsible tenants and won’t have to worry about this too much. You still need to enforce the terms and conditions of your lease, no matter who is renting out your home, but the “laying down the law” piece won’t be so necessary with good tenants. But sometimes those “bad apples” sneak through, and that’s when you’re going to have to actively enforce the lease. Be sure to remain firm, authoritative, and calm whenever you deal with them.
Make Sure They Pay
The first and the most important part of enforcing the lease is ensuring your tenant is paying their rent. And not just paying, but paying the full amount, on time, every single month . Some tenants do this automatically, but others, assuming they’re not red-flagged “bad apples,” need reminders. You also want to check up on things to make sure they’re doing what they’re supposed to be doing — paying you to live in your home!
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