Property managers walk a precarious tight rope. On one hand, our job is to keep the property running smoothly by accomplishing the seemingly endless number of chores.
And on the other hand, our job is to also maintain good relations with our tenants. Tenants that sometimes test our resolve.
So when the legislature passes a law that allowed landlords to charge tenants non-compliance fees many welcomed the new enforcement tools. These new compliance fees allow landlords to charge a non-compliance fee for pet violations, for leaving pet waste, parking violations, and smoking/vaping violations.
Some of these fees can add up to hundreds of dollars. A real boon for the struggling landlord.
However, all is not golden as we have learned that the relationship between the property manager and the tenant is almost as important as it is with the owner of the property.
Now Empire tenants are some of the most responsible and respected members of our community. In our opinion charging a non-compliance fees changes our relationship with our tenants for the worst.
We are not talking about contractual fees such as late fees and NSF fees. These are normal and expected, and do not interfere with our normal working relationship.
Our method is simple. Put responsible tenants in the property. If and when the tenant fails to comply with our agreement we follow a 3 step process to move them to compliance.
If that fails the tenants just need to move, as nobody is going to be happy until the property management is happy.
Happy Landlording,
James (Ed) Waggoner