- Not paying rent on time. This is arguably the most crucial matter that contributes to your being a bad tenant. Your Riverview property manager has every right to start eviction proceedings against you if you’re late on your rent. You can also harm your credit score if you are unable to pay on time.
- Making too much noise or disturbing other tenants. Repeatedly causing noise or upsetting the rest of the tenants will give your landlord many complaints about you. Your landlord will not likely renew your lease when the time comes, with all the complaints he gets about you.
- Damaging the property or not taking care of it. Here is another typical characteristic of an irresponsible tenant. Causing damage to the property or neglecting to repair it, will force your landlord to spend money to fix it. This can be extremely costly for them, and they may consider withholding your security deposit or, in severe cases, evicting you.
- Not reporting maintenance and repair issues. Maintenance and repair issues can cost your landlord a lot of money if you don’t report them right away. You also risk causing damage to your own property in addition to the house (like water leaks that turn into a flood!). This is why it’s critical to inform your landlord of any problems as soon as possible.
- Having pets when you’re not supposed to. You may hope that your landlord will forget about the fact that you own pets when they are not allowed, but they won’t. If your lease specifically forbids pets, this is a clear violation of the terms of your lease and it may get you evicted.
- Bringing in unauthorized guests. Unsanctioned guests or residents are given the same treatment. Your landlord should know who lives in your rental home for liability reasons, including family members who stay for days on end. Unapproved visitors could cause you and your landlord legal problems if something turns out badly.
- Smoking inside or using drugs. This is another frequent sign of an unreliable tenant. Using drugs and smoking inside when your lease forbids it, and doing it anyway, can cause a lot of aggravation for your landlord and can get you arrested (if the drugs are illegal) or evicted – or both.
- Ignore your lease terms. If you disregard any of your lease terms, including those discussed previously, you may believe it will make little difference in the short term. Your landlord, on the other hand, will eventually find out – and they will be furious. This could result in you receiving a warning or even being evicted from the property.
Make sure you don’t do these things now that you know how not to be a bad tenant! The last thing you need is to get a bad reference or be blacklisted, making it difficult (if not impossible) to rent a new place to live. If you are in the market for a new rental home, browse our listings. We can help you find a quality rental home in Riverview.