A situation that no owner of a rental property wants to face is dealing with bad guests. Although the majority of the time you will welcome pleasant tenants, there can also be times when problematic individuals show up.
If you have experienced something similar, or want to be well-prepared for your next booking, this blog will tell you how to protect your rental from bad guests.
What Problems Can Problematic Tenants Cause?
Having guests in your apartment that don’t respect your property can cause serious issues, not only with regards to your home, but also your and your neighbourhood’s reputation. Here is a list of the most common concerns:
Late Check-Out
If your tenants don’t respect your check-in and check-out times, it can delay the time between one guest leaving and the next one arriving. This can disrupt your schedule and also affect the experience of the next tenants, who will start with a negative impression of your management.
Extra Cleaning Tasks
Everyone expects the apartment to be clean and tidy after a guest checks-out. However, if this is not the case, you then require extra time and money to clean up the place before the next tenant arrives.
Damage in your property
Another big concern for owners is finding material damage on the property, such as chairs, kitchenware, windows…Resolving such issues can mean you have to spend money on maintenance services, buying new equipment… Additionally, it can affect the rating of the next guests, if you don’t get it repaired in time.
Parties and Rule Breaking
If the guests at your apartment organise frequent parties, exceed the established noise levels or exhibit other bad behaviours, you will probably receive complaints from your neighbours, or even from the police. While many Spanish municipalities and tourist platforms such as Airbnb have become stricter with this issue, be sure not to experience such bad practices.
Fraud and Irregularities in Payments
The last thing a landlord wants to come across are tenants who do not pay or lack the financial means to cover monthly payments. Additionally, since the majority of reservations nowadays are made online, you need to watch out for fraudulent or suspicious guests.
6 Tips for Protecting Yourself From Problematic Tenants
With AB Apartment Barcelona’s management services, you can relax as you will receive the necessary attention and support throughout the duration of your guests’ stay.
However, if you manage your properties by yourself, you should take into account the following key things for protection against problematic guests:
- Sign a Rental Contract
The first thing you should do to protect yourself from potential problematic tenants is sign a rental contract. This will document all of the measures and consequences for not respecting your property’s terms and conditions.
- Set a Minimum Stay
Another action you can take is establish a minimum number of days for booking. While this doesn’t prevent encountering problematic tenants, it could help to reduce the number of people interested in booking for a single night. Such guests often look for cheap accommodations for celebrations or parties.
- Create a Home Inventory
Rental properties, whether vacation or seasonal, experience a high turnover of different clients, increasing the chances of damage compared to conventional leases. That’s why, we recommend creating a list with all your property’s contents and taking photographs before and after each guest’s stay. This way, when a guest leaves, you can verify the current state of the furniture and take necessary action if needed.
- Protect Yourself With Rental Insurance
The best solution to avoid worrying about what your tenants might do, is to protect yourself with landlord rental insurance. With this coverage, you will have more security against any unforeseen events. Find out more information in our blog!
- Request a Deposit
Another safeguard you can implement is asking for a fee or security deposit to cover yourself in case any traveller causes damage to your property. The Swikly platform helps owners save time and reduce costs associated with collecting rent. If there are any issues, Swinkly directly charges the cardholder who provided the deposit, eliminating worries about its recovery. Moreover, through its identity authentication system, it also prevents identity fraud.
- Install a Noise Detector
If your guests make excessive noise or host parties, a noise detector can help identify such inconsiderate behaviour. With these devices installed, you can monitor real-time noise levels in your property. Just as it’s crucial to educate your tenants on preserving the property’s condition, it is also essential to ensure respect and harmony with the neighbours.
How Can I Be Sure That My Travellers Are Serious?
With all of the information above, you might be wondering how you can ensure that your guests will be respectful.
While renting a property to someone is not science, there are some practices to ensure successful bookings:
- Be cautious of strange emails: If the interested party provides a suspicious email address during booking, it could be a scam.
- Read the reviews beforehand: On some vacation rental platforms such as Airbnb, and other OTAS, as well as property reviews, there are also guest reviews. Make sure to only accept those tenants with good reviews.
- Contact them: You can also take the opportunity to contact your tenants once they have settled in. This way, you can use this contact to learn more about the purpose of their stay, check that everything is going well and show them that you are present and informed.
Read our article on finding the perfect tenant for more insights. Ultimately, keep in mind that kind and respectful travellers represent the majority of guests. In any case, it is best to be cautious!
