What makes a good tenant? How can we define if a tenant is good or bad?

It might be funny but let’s take a closer look and ask ourselves this key question: What qualities should a tenant possess that makes them “Good”?

We may find a lot of answers and it’s a little bit obvious for us to consider but is the title still applicable to a person who does not pay rent? Moreover, let us look into the factors that we will going to consider.

While searching for a tenant as a property manager, you are going to take some time to screen for good tenants. There might be lots of potential tenants but not all are necessarily going to be good tenants. A good tenant is, among other things, a person who fully understands the rental agreement and lives accordingly. Here are the characteristics that comprise a great tenant.

1. Trust

A great tenant should be a genuine person. He or she must be somebody who you are able to find reliable. He or she must pay his rent promptly.

2. Credit

A great tenant should have great credit and/or show excellent earnings potential, to ensure that you will be paid. I say ‘should’ here because it’s quite possible for someone to be an amazing tenant and have no credit (if they pay for everything in cash and never borrow, for example).

3. Cleanliness

He or she must take good proper care of the home. He or she should keep their rental unit neat and should dispose the garbage regularly. Despite the fact that it’s an apartment, a good tenant should see it as their own property. A good tenant will notify the property manager of problems promptly, and make it easy to solve them.

4. Guests and Pets

A great tenant brings respectful guests into their home. A great tenant also is a great pet owner.

5. Complaints from Neighbors

A great tenant is mindful of his or her neighbors and keeps noise to a minimum. A great tenant rarely receives complaints from the neighbors – but if complaints do arise, a great tenant will kindly accommodate respectful requests.

6. Respect

He or she must respect his landlord and neighbors. If the tenant ever intends on vacating the property (especially if prior to the end of the lease), the great tenant should give extended notice and do what he or she can to help the property manager fill the upcoming vacancy.

 

A great tenant, when filling out the rental application, fills it out to completion providing all requested information – on top of this, the great tenant is also often willing to provide extra information to assist in the property manager’s background checks and assessments.

A great tenant in general is an individual who goes beyond the minimums required – they are excellent individuals who go out of their way to help you and others, and who are understanding that ‘stuff happens.’ Do not ever take advantage of a good tenant, or you will forever lose their trust.