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Rental Markets in Oklahoma are blooming yearly. Millions of people rent their housing every year, a great opportunity for property owners. But, at the same time, there is a chance of landlord tenant disputes. These conflicts can range from minor, like noise violations, to major property damages or evictions.
Sometimes, a tenant could feel their landlord is too strict, while a landlord may find out that the tenant isn’t what they believed would be. There are so many factors that can lead to landlord-tenant issues. Some of them are disagreements on the lease terms, rental property repairs, maintenance, etc. One of the major ways to minimize the risk of tenant disputes is communication. Check Landlord Tenant Law in Oklahoma.
What causes Landlord Tenant Disputes?
1. Nonpayment of rent
Not paying the rent on time creates common landlord tenant disputes. Various factors can cause stress for the nonpayment of rent. Here are a few.
- Tenants fail to pay rent on time or don’t pay it in full or at all. When the rent is paid late, it can be a big issue for homeowners.
- Tenants send bad checks or lie to the homeowner, saying, “They made the payment via credit card, and it hasn’t gone through.”
- Landlord failing to make regular maintenance makes tenants stop paying rent or only pay partial rent.
How to prevent disputes regarding payment of rent issues?
- As a landlord, you need to ensure that the tenant understands when rent is due and what date it is considered late.
- Set up an authorized system to allow renters to report habitability issues and address them quickly to avoid the tenant having any leverage.
- In emergencies or any tenant’s unexpected financial issues, the landlord should understand the situation. However, It’s not ok to allow your tenants to take benefit of your generosity.
2. Security deposits
Another very common cause of landlord tenant dispute is security deposits. All issues concerning a tenant disagree with what the landlord considers “damages.”
In Oklahoma, The landlord has every right to deduct the costs and expenses of past due rent repair items due to damage by the tenant. Landlords are allowed to clean the unit or store tenants’ belongings. You might wonder if a landlord can keep the security deposit or not. Oklahoma law allows the landlord to keep your security deposit if a tenant doesn’t make a written request within 6 months of the end of your lease.
Note: Avoid Bad Tenants by Screening Tenants Properly – How to Screen Tenants?
3. Pet deposits
A landlord can legally request a non-refundable pet deposit from a tenant. The logic is that a pet is referred to as an additional “tenant,” causing extra damage to the rental premises. The pet deposit ends up covering whatever damages that the pet causes.
Pet deposits must attach to regular security deposit rules and cannot be held as a “non-refundable” deposit.
Plus, the homeowner has every lawful right to pet restrictions. They can allow dogs but no cats. Also, they can restrict a dog’s breed, size, and weight.
As you can see, many details are holding “pet deposits.” When it comes to emotional animals, things can be tougher. This can result in a common landlord tenant dispute since there are many uncertainties there. Check property management OKC Pet Policy.
Also Read: Who’s Responsible for Pest Control in a Rental?
4. Property damages
It’s a good idea to precisely outline what is considered normal wear vs. damages caused by the tenant or their guests. Here are a few tenant responsibilities towards rental property:
- Keeping the rental in hygienic conditions. Removing trash and rubbish from the rental unit. Maintaining common areas clean and free of dangerous waste.
- To avoid potential issues when a tenant moves out, it’s good to implement move-in and move-out inspection checklists. You and the tenant can walk together and check off common problematic areas such as bathroom areas, kitchens, and heavy traffic areas.
Once the tenant is ready to move out, you can perform a home inspection again, pointing out areas that need attention and what you could potentially consider as “damage.”
Note: What to do after evicting a Tenant?
5. Safety disclosures
Oklahoma requires landlords to make clear disclosures if the rental property warrants them. There are Federal, State, and Local disclosures landlords have to consider. Some of the more common disclosures that must be made to Oklahoma tenants include:
- Mold
- Lead-based paints
- Certain death in units
- Methamphetamine contaminations
- Flooding and much more
- Failing to disclose the proper notice to your tenants can cause legal issues and lead to a lot of tension between you and your tenant and cause landlord tenant disputes. You must consider the safety of your tenants and their family.
6. Right to repairs
Tenants often make the mistake of thinking their landlords want to pry in and infringe on their privacy. Landlords should make it a business policy to inspect their rental property at least once a month to ensure tenants aren’t doing anything that violates the lease agreement and is illegal. This also provides a perfect opportunity to take care of any repairs and maintenance your rental may need.
Sometimes, however, tenants will not allow a landlord to make the repairs or make it extremely difficult. A landlord has a right to enter their rental property and make repairs to ensure the habitability of their rental.
Recommended: How to minimize the vacancy rate for a rental property?
7. Tenants breaking the lease agreement
Tenant breaking a lease agreement can cause several issues for the landlord, such as having to turn over a rental when not expected, finding new renters, paying overdue bills, etc.
Leaving a lease has serious consequences that many tenants don’t fully understand and can cause common landlord tenant disputes. The homeowner can utilize the deposit to cover the costs of replacing the resident who abandoned or broke their lease.
Communication is the easiest way to avoid the most common landlord tenant disputes. If you make it a habit to communicate with your tenant properly, you can avoid potential stress on your relationship with your tenant. Happy tenants equal happy landlords, which equals longer and stress-free tenancies. Landlords should view their tenants as their customers and put them first to ensure their business is successful.
To find out more about the services that OKC Home Realty Services, LLC has to offer, read more about property management OKC. Call us today. You can follow Scott Nachatilo on Facebook.
Recommended: How to Do Background Check on Tenants / What a Landlord Cannot Do
FAQs on Landlord Tenant Disputes
What is a major cause of landlord tenant dispute?
The common landlord-tenant dispute is nonpayment of rent issues. There is an array of factors that can cause tension for the nonpayment of rent. The landlord fails to make proper repairs or regular maintenance so the tenant stops paying rent or only pays partial rent.
What are tenancy disputes?
Tenancy disputes include payment of the rental bond, rent increases, unpaid rent, termination of the tenancy agreement, compensation, repairs, and other breaches of the residential tenancy agreement.
How can a landlord settle a dispute?
Regardless of who is to blame, here are 5 ways you can set about resolving disputes.
1. Communicate
2. Put It in Writing
3. Meditation
4. Focus on a Positive Solution
5. Court
Author
Scott Nachatilo is an investor, property manager and owner of OKC Home Realty Services – one of the best property management companies in Oklahoma City. His mission is to help landlords and real estate investors to manage their property in Oklahoma.
