Unfortunately, there’s no way to work in self storage without running into troublesome tenants.
There can be a lot of reasons a tenant is “bad” - property damage, live-ins, and people who are just plain aggressive. Self storage is a universal business, meaning it attracts just about everybody, including people who won’t respect your lease agreement.
There are a lot of potential lease violations that happen every day across self storage.
Before we talk about the best approaches for getting rid of problematic tenants, let’s talk about what qualifies a tenant to be removed.
Sometimes a tenant is storing something illegal like narcotics or weaponry. Some offenses are more severe than others, which makes knowing your next steps a little tricky. Before we break down what to do for each potential issue, let’s identify what warrants removing a tenant from your facility.
Troublesome Tenants Can:
In some cases, a tenant can simply not be invited to renew their lease; some tenants require eviction; and others can even have their unit auctioned off based on your state’s lien laws.
It can be overwhelming having to deal with tenants who don’t respect your facility. But that’s why your rental lease agreement is so crucial for protecting you in these situations!
A thorough lease agreement can cover your tracks ahead of time before the inevitable happens. Be sure to spell out, in detail, what is and isn’t allowed on your property, making sure that anyone who signs is aware that rude behavior or taking advantage of your facility won’t be tolerated.
Once your lease agreement is squeaky clean, detailed, and thorough, you’ll be ready to take the necessary action you need to remove troublesome renters.
It’s worth noting that some state laws might overpower your lease agreement, so it’s important to learn as much as you can about your state’s self storage legislation before drafting your agreement. Joining your local state SSA is often the easiest way to access this information, or even to find a pre-written lease that does the heavy lifting for you!
Now, what to do with those pesky, rule-breaking tenants?
Trouble comes in many shapes and forms, and whatever version you’re dealing with, it’s important to know your rights. Unfortunately, some laws vary state by state, however, the majority of self storage legislature is uniform across the country.
In the case of a tenant who isn’t making payments, a lien auction is a possible solution to your problem. Of course, we’d all rather be paid on time than have to go through the trouble of setting up an auction, but a lien auction can be the perfect way to make back revenue.
However, in many other cases, it’s safer to just serve a tenant with a non-renewal letter or an eviction notice.
Instances when eviction is safer than a lien auction:
In the majority of cases, it’s a lot easier to send a notice to your troublesome tenant that you will not be renewing their monthly lease, and in most cases, it’s suggested that you do this a month before eviction. This covers you, so your tenant has reasonable time to collect their belongings should they bring their notice to court.
So what are the steps toward evicting a troublesome tenant?
It’s worth noting that if you’re attempting to evict a paying tenant, you’ll first need to file for eviction papers with your local county court. Not only does this give you some extra authority but it also gives you a solid defense if they retaliate.
Be sure the law is on your side, and that your lease agreement is backing you up.
The moral of the story is to do everything you can to cover your tracks in case these troublesome tenants become angry tenants!
Check out these posts if you’re interested in getting more out of your operations:
How to Reduce Redundant Face Time with TenantsAt StoragePug, we build self storage websites that make it easy for new customers to find you and easy for them to rent from you.
