Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. If you own real estate with tenants, one of your chief considerations in modern times is keeping your tenants safe. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Keep Your Tenants Safe.
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Given that we are in the middle of a pandemic, it’s become more important than ever to ensure that as landlords, we keep our tenants safe. The initial virus that flew around the world wasn’t of pandemic proportions, but now people are afraid and people are worried about falling ill. As a landlord you have to consider that your tenants could have lost their jobs, or be put on furlough with less of a salary than they are used to. How you handle this pandemic is important, and it’s your responsibility to maintain a healthy living environment as much as it is to be as fair as you can be with your tenants.
You must take as many extra steps as possible to ensure that your tenants are kept safe, and that means following some of the steps below. A healthy environment is a must for your tenants, as it is a must for yourself. Let’s take a look at what you can do.
● A new cleaning schedule. If you are in charge of an apartment building, you will (hopefully) have a cleaning company on contract to clean and maintain the common areas of the building. Strata cleaners are there to be more vigilant about cleaning than ever before. Hiring in extra staff at this time should be a consideration, as should you be paying for a sanitation station in the lobby. Ramping up your cleaning schedule is a must, and the more you keep on top of it, the better off all of the tenants will be.
● Close the communal spaces. Outdoor playground, indoor seated areas, indoor gyms, non-essential amenities – none of those needs to be open in a pandemic. If you want to maximise the safety of your tenants, then you need to look at closing spaces where they’ll gather and close it for now. You could knock some money off the rent if your tenants don’t have access to the amenities for which they’re paying.
● Change the guest limits. Previously, you’ve never had a problem with tenants having guests and you let them all know it. Now, you need to close down the open house policy because limiting guests will help you to prevent COVID-19.
● Reduce the rent. This may not be one of the things you can do to make sure that people are safe from the virus, but it’s definitely a way to keep people safe. You need to consider that your tenants have lost jobs, are dealing with severe mental health issues as a result of the pandemic and are terrified right now. They should consider you someone to tell when they’re struggling, so offer 50% rent during the pandemic. Your tenants will be much happier, which ensures that they stay for longer.
Being a landlord carries a lot of responsibility. With the right treatment during this time, your tenants will remain safe, happy and comfortable in their homes without the worry that they’re going to have to move, and knowing you are doing what you can to keep them well.