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8 Things That Make You a Bad Tenant

Little Elm Tenant Smoking a Cigarette in Her Rental HomeAre you a careless tenant? If you don’t know, here are eight things that could make you one. A bad tenant can get into difficult circumstances like getting evicted, withholding your security deposit, or even being excluded from renting again. Keep away from these behaviors if you don’t want to deal with any of those consequences!

  1. Not paying rent on time. This is arguably the most crucial matter that contributes to your being a bad tenant. Your Little Elm property manager has the power to start eviction proceedings on you if you’re late to pay rent. Being late to pay rent can also damage your credit score.
  2. Making too much noise or disturbing other tenants. If you are constantly making noise or causing disturbances to other tenants, your landlord will have numerous complaints against you. The more grievances your landlord receives, the less likely they will be to renew your contract at the end of its term.
  3. Damaging the property or not taking care of it. There is another common sign of a bad tenant. Your landlord will have to spend money to repair the property if you damage it or do not take care of it. This costs them a lot of cash, and they may decide to keep your security deposit or evict you in extreme cases.
  4. Not reporting maintenance and repair issues. Maintenance and repair issues that are not reported promptly can cost your landlord a lot of money. Moreover, you may cause damage not only to the house but to your personal property (imagine a water leak that will become a flood!). This is why it’s crucial to notify your landlord of any issues as soon as possible.
  5. 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 legitimately prohibits pets, this is a direct violation of the terms of your lease and may lead to your eviction from the premises.
  6. Bringing in unauthorized guests. Unauthorized visitors or residents are treated the same way. Your landlord should know who lives in your rental home for liability reasons, including family members who stay for days on end. Unauthorized guests could cause legal issues for you and your landlord if something goes wrong.
  7. Smoking inside or using drugs. Here is another sign of a bad 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.
  8. Ignore your lease terms. Ignoring any of your lease terms, as well as those we’ve already discussed, may cause you to think it won’t have an impact in the short term. But your landlord will eventually find out sooner or later, and they will be indignant. This may result in you receiving a warning or even being evicted from the property.

Now that you’re aware of how not to be a bad tenant, avoid the mentioned behaviors! The last thing you want is to earn a bad reference or become blacklisted, which will make renting your next home more difficult (if not impossible). If you are in the market for a new rental home, browse our listings. We can help you find a quality rental home in Little Elm.

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