Dealing with tough tenancies: How landlords stay in control 

Ultimately, she said that landlords and property managers needed to have a thick skin to get through the more difficult times, be informed about all regulations, and develop a general sense of understanding.

Gordon said that tenants sometimes had difficulty understanding processes, particularly regarding timeframes and procedures to be followed.

“We are not trying to make life difficult for them, but there are legislation and rules that we have to abide by, and it's probably just their lack of understanding what those rules are that make the situation difficult,” she said.

“Owners' affordability, long-term plans, legislation obviously play a part too, so there's just lots of variables in every situation.”

Additionally, Gordon said one challenge that often arose was around bond processes, as many tenants have insisted that the property's final condition was better than it actually was.

“We don't wear a white glove when we carry out an exit inspection, we only ever refer back to the entry condition report, but everyone has a different understanding of what that condition is,” she said.

She said it was particularly challenging when tenants had been living in the property for a long time and were relying on memory to recall the original condition.

“That’s why we rely on the entry condition report. But if they think that something is clean in their eyes, it may not necessarily be clean in our eyes,” she said.

While the process of returning the bond can be complex, Gordon said maintenance was another area where issues often arose.

She said she sometimes received requests from tenants to make small fixes or adjustments they could have probably handled themselves.

“Not that we expect them to and not that legislation says that they can or that they have to, but as a tenant myself, it is something that I would just attend to,” she said.

She said the fixes could include replacing light bulbs, rusted oven trays, or plugs that didn’t work.

“I'm not even talking that significant, but it could just be small things, but screwing fence panels back in if you've got loose fence tailings or something,” she said.

Gordon also said that over the years, she had experienced many challenges, including property damage and unruly tenants, including a renter who maliciously destroyed a property.

“I've seen where lots of tenants have abandoned properties before. I've seen, thankfully it wasn't a drug lab, but I have seen where dealers have lived before,” she said.

“Unfortunately I have seen some pretty rough things. I've had rough tenants that I've had to deal with in the past that were violent. It's all bad, but it's nothing that has stopped me from wanting to do my job.”

To maximise efficiency in handling tenants, Gordon said it was important for investors to maintain solid relationships with property managers built on mutual respect, trust and communication.

“In a perfect world it would be that a property owner just trusts our judgement and trusts that we've got their best interest at heart,” she said.

“We are not out to cost them money or spend their money on things that aren't warranted, we are there just to ensure that their investment property remains in good order for them,” she said.

For landlords without a property manager, Gordon said it was essential to keep up to date with rental laws, as they can easily be in breach and find themselves in legal trouble.

“With all the changes in tenancy law now there are things that I shake my head at that make me very worried for investors, particularly the ones that don't know legislation,” she said.

“The more tenants that know it and understand it, and owners that don't understand it or don't have a managing agent, they could potentially find themselves in some hot mess.”

Additionally, She said that, given that many owners had property interstate, it was essential for them to be informed about the rules in the state in which they were investing.

“The law is very different between states. They are coming into line a lot more now, but they are still quite different. So what they understand of the legislation in New South Wales is different to [Queensland].”

“We are all about educating and we have our YouTube channel and newsletters and so forth to share that information as best we can, but sometimes it’s more of an ‘if and when’ the situation arises that we educate them.”

According to Gordon, empathy and understanding also played an important role in dealing with challenging tenant circumstances.

“I think it's really important that you have to be able to relate to people when you're doing this job,” she said.

“I'm a tenant myself, I've been a landlord myself, I'm also a property manager, so I feel like I've got some sort of empathy level with everyone.

She said that maintaining a good relationship with tenants and preventing issues meant both owners and landlords could keep their income.

“Maintaining that solid relationship with the tenant, empathising with them, supporting them and showing them that we care about them just as much as we care about the landlord who's paying us at the end of the day, that's a pretty tough act,” she said.

However, she said landlords and property managers should accept there are sometimes factors that are outside their control, despite their best efforts to understand and sympathise with tenants.

“It's [about] balancing that empathy but also educating them at the same time,” she concluded.

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