Tenants that Do Not Respond

[Caleb Smith]

Hey everybody!

I was wanting to see what you do in a situation when you reach out to tenants about lease violations and they do not respond to you.

For example, if a resident had a dog they were not paying for and I noticed it. Once I contact them about needing to charge an additional pet rent and adding the pet information to the lease, they do not respond.

This could also go for roommates living there but not on the lease.

What would be the next best course of action?

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Caleb Smith:

Hey everybody!

I was wanting to see what you do in a situation when you reach out to tenants about lease violations and they do not respond to you.

For example, if a resident had a dog they were not paying for and I noticed it. Once I contact them about needing to charge an additional pet rent and adding the pet information to the lease, they do not respond.

This could also go for roommates living there but not on the lease.

What would be the next best course of action?

Any time you give notice of a violation, you should always require a response and there should always be a consequence for failing to respond and/or failing to correct the violation.

When I discover an unauthorized pet, they are given a written warning, a $200 fine, and 72 hours to remove the dog and pass an inspection. If they are caught a second time, it's another $200 fine and written notice of termination or I start the eviction process.

Don't ever leave things open. If you want/need a response, set a deadline. If you don't hear back from them, hit them with a fine or a notice that grabs their attention. Or just do what you can to get rid of them. I hate when Tenants expect me to respond to their every need, but they refuse to respond to me.