What to do when you receive harassment from tenants

There’s not much literature around landlords receiving harassment from tenants, but that’s not to say it isn’t a problem that landlords face at times. Harassment from tenants can take many different forms, causing excessive damage to your property without repairing the damage and refusing to pay rent. Here, we’ll take a look at what you need to do as a landlord when your tenant is harassing you. 

Are you experiencing harassment from your tenant? 

You may be experiencing tenant harassment without realising it and it’s important to be knowledgeable on this topic so that you know what to do in these situations. Let’s look at the different types of tenant harassment. 

• Causing excessive property damage: We mentioned earlier that tenants who cause excessive property damage without any intention of repairing it are an example of receiving harassment from tenants. This is different to any damage that is considered fair wear and tear. 
• Refusing to pay rent: Tenants refusing to pay rent is another example of harassment. This can include tenants refusing to pay rent after a landlord has gone through the correct procedures to raise rent. 

• Constantly receiving complaints about your tenant: Constantly receiving noise complaints about your tenants from other people who live next to, or near your tenant, is also considered harassment. 

• Receiving threatening communication: If your tenant is sending you threatening messages via email or text, you’re experiencing harassment from your tenant. 

• Tenants violating the warranty of habitability of other tenants: All tenants have a right to live in a space that is clean and safe. If your tenant causes this not to be the case for other tenants, it is also classed as tenant harassment. This can include clogging neighbours’ drains, taking their parking spaces or causing damage to the property they live in. 
• Assault: Any form of assault is also classed as harassment, and you are well within your rights to call the police if you experience this. 

Solutions to stop receiving harassment from tenants

There are always things that you can do as a landlord to stop tenants from harassing you, including legal action. Let’s take a look at the different avenues you can take to prevent your tenants from harassing you. 

Civil lawsuits

As a landlord, you can sue your tenant for causing malicious damage to your property and refusing to repair it. This can include receiving compensation for the damage caused, any legal fees that you may need to pay to sort the issues out, or any other money lost that is directly linked to harassment from tenants. 

Criminal charges 

If any of the harassment caused by the tenant is classed as criminal activity, you could press charges against the tenant and get law enforcement involved. Examples of this include vandalism,  stalking or violence against you.

Tenants may need to partake in community service or pay fines, or in more severe cases, they may be sentenced to serve time in prison. 

Eviction

You are also within your rights to evict your tenant if they are harassing you or damaging your property without repairing it. You would need to ensure, however, that you use the correct grounds to evict someone, though. 

Grounds for eviction include a tenant engaging in anti-social behaviour, rent not being paid and if the tenant lease agreement ends and you don’t want to extend it. If you believe that you have grounds to evict your tenant, you can serve either a Section 8 or Section 21 notice.  

Restraining orders 

Receiving harassment from tenants will, at times, require you to gain a restraining order against them, especially if they have physically assaulted you or sent you threatening messages. Having a restraining order against your tenants means that they will be barred from being in the same vicinity as you. 

Consequences for tenants

Any of the abovementioned actions that you take as a landlord will have negative consequences for tenants in the future, whether it be financial or reputational. Tenants who are found guilty of harassing their landlords will struggle to rent in the future. This is as a result of any references they would receive, which will no doubt, mention them being found guilty of harassment. 

If tenants need to be taken to court, they will need to cover the legal costs that are involved in the process. Also, if they need to pay any fines, they will suffer financial strain as a result of this. 

How to prevent harassment from tenants

There are certain things that you can do to mitigate these risks as a landlord and to ensure that you have a conducive relationship with your tenants in the first place. 

Tenant screening process

The first step in ensuring you avoid any harassment from tenants is to make sure that your tenant screening process is effective. 

The first step in this is to make sure that you know your tenants’ renting history to get a feel for their commitment to your property. Ask them questions and find out more about them as people so that you know the type of people that are going to be living on your property. 

Communication

You also need to make sure that you keep open communication with your tenants to ensure that they understand your expectations as a landlord and so that they feel comfortable enough to approach you should they have any questions or issues they need to solve. 

Landlord insurance

Another step of precaution that you can take is to invest in landlord insurance. Having the proper coverage on your property will make sure that you are covered should your tenants cause malicious damage or theft by tenants, for example. 

If you are looking for the best landlord insurance quotes, make sure to contact our team of experts at CIA Landlords. Our team will help you find the most comprehensive coverage for your property. Contact us on 01788 818 670.