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If you’re a landlord that’s experienced (or currently experiencing) the excruciatingly frustrating situation that entails a tenant that either point blank ignores you or takes forever and a day to respond, I know you’ll understand why steam is seeping out of every orifice of my withering body right now. I’m about to lose my loopy mind!
*Deep breathes*
From a landlord’s perspective, there’s very little else that can skyrocket frustration levels to these dizzy heights, especially when the only thing you’ve ever done is be a good landlord. It’s one of those situations that you need to experience first-hand and be consumed by it, otherwise there’s no hope of understanding. Am I right?
So while the rest of the world may think we’re overreacting, money-grabbing parasites, we bloody know our anger and frustrations are sometimes justified.
Side note: if you want to skip my melodramatic “Dear diary” moment, and you’re just after practical and legal advice on how to deal with unresponsive tenants, click here to skip to the relevant information (btw, you’re selfish and you suck for not indulging in my misery).
When tenant’s suddenly go mute (for no reason whatsoever)!
Funny, isn’t it?
One day they’ll be chewing our ears off to get the carpets changed, and the next – when we want something reasonable from them – they’ve miraculously managed to lose their ability to communicate, like they’ve misplaced their car keys.
I’m not talking about the tenant’s that take a vow of silence when they’re late on rent or refusing to vacate after being served notice, because objectively, it’s easy to understand why they’ve gone radio silent, albeit frustrating as all hell.
I’m specifically referring to the tenants that go silent for no rhyme or reason. Now, these are the looney-bins we all need to be wary of, because they’re unpredictable, and there’s no telling what they’re capable of doing in our sleep. It’s almost like they’re playing a sick game. Has anyone seen the 90’s movie Pacific Heights, starring Michael Keeton? If so, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.
Alas, I’ve bagged myself one of those nut-jobs.
The silent killer
The tenant in question is slowly (but very effectively) starting to grind away at my patience, and it’s anyone’s guess what will happen when there’s nothing left to grind away at. Fortunately, I’m proactively doing what I can to remain calm and rational, so I don’t cross over to the dark side.
I’m not entirely sure if he enjoys tormenting me, like a child strategically pulling apart each and every leg from a spider, or whether he has a legitimate disability preventing him from responding to my attempts of communication in a reasonable time frame. I hope it’s the latter (for the sake of my mental health).
I’ve always considered 48 hours to be a reasonable time frame to respond to someone in a professional capacity, which is why I always respond to my tenants within that time (maximum), least of all because of a little something called professional courtesy. Of course, the usual exemptions apply, like a work-related emergency or a cheating spouse [caught in the act] (a.k.a “Family emergency”).
Here’s a taste of what I’m currently dealing with when trying to communicate with my tenant (this has been ongoing for several months now):
- Follow-up enquiry mandatory – he’ll NEVER respond to my first attempt; he evidently wants me to work for his attention (he has very similar traits to my ex). I need to send at least two or three follow-ups before I get any signs of life. Obviously his time is more valuable than mine.
- Excuses galore – every response comes with a progressively worse excuse to justify his slow response rate. “Oh yeah, sorry, my son swallowed my phone”
- Dire response rate – I’ll be lucky if he responds within 7 days (from the first attempt). In fact, it would be a Christmas miracle if he replied with in a week.
- Oblivious – we’ve been playing this game for several months now, and despite my best efforts, he doesn’t even seem to “get it” *shrugs shoulders*
I’ve contacted him for various reasons, including (but not limited to):
- Schedule a gas safety inspection
- Repair the garden fence which *he* wanted fixed asap
- Chase late rent
- Chase him for a receipt (which I needed to imminently file for my tax returns)
Nothing unreasonable, right? It’s not like I was stalking the guy for my own pleasure. Believe you me, if the law permitted me to skip the annual gas safety inspection, I’d do it in a heartbeat.
I should clarify – even though it stings to admit it given the circumstances – he’s generally a good tenant, in the sense that he eventually does respond and he’s yet to miss a rent payment (with the aid of nudging on multiple occasions). However, the lack of common courtesy and unprofessionalism still boils my piss, because not only is it rude, but it’s also a clear indication of a relationship with imbalance. That’s never healthy.
Come on, buddy, we’re meant to be a team here.
I appreciate the situation could be a lot worse, and I’m sure many landlords with unresponsive tenants will be reading this wishing they had my gormless twit of a tenant, because he could just ignore me altogether, causing further destruction, as opposed to torturing me with silence before eventually putting me out of my misery. Nonetheless, it’s still bloody irritating, especially because there is no obviously objective reason to play these games, other than mental warfare.
Have you been in a similar situation?
Needless to say, the ol’ silent treatment is a terribly common scenario, experienced by both landlords and tenants alike. Obviously it’s not just tenants that like to play the game, landlords are also known for miraculously turning mute overnight, especially when it concerns matters of disrepair and financial investment. Heaven forbid!
What’s your story? Please share…
What should landlords do when tenants become unresponsive?
- Try to be reasonably patient, which means refrain from going overboard with the text messages and phone calls. Apparently there’s a fine line between trying to grab someone’s attention and harassment.
- If your tenant doesn’t respond to your text messages and/or phone calls within reasonable time, write them a letter, sent by recorded delivery (so there’s proof of receipt). Always keep copies of the letters for your own records.
- If there is no response within 14 days, try writing another letter. Again, keep copies and send it recorded delivery.
- DO NOT attempt to enter the property on your own will unless it is an emergency e.g. health and safety issue (it is best to seek professional advice on what constitutes as an “emergency”), otherwise you could be breaching your tenant’s legal right to live in “Quiet Enjoyment”. Yes, that’s actually a real thing.
- If you’re still not having any luck, unfortunately it might be time to seek professional advice.
Free legal advice for landlords
The impact of poor communication can vary by case, and for some landlords it’s a symptom of a much more fearful and volatile situation than my experience I shared in this post. Yes, I’ve also dealt with tenants that went silent after falling into several months of arrears, and that was definitely more scathing. In those cases, it’s often beneficial to talk a professional in order to resolve matters as efficiently as possible.
If you would like professional and FREE legal advice on how to best manage a problematic tenant (whether they’re not communicating and/or behind on rent), then I can only recommend contacting my brilliant affiliate partner LegalforLandlords.co.uk (who also happen to be one of the most reputable legal service providers for UK landlords). Yup, no strings-attached, no obligations.
Schedule a free consultation and reference the promo code PIPLANDLORD and/or reference PropertyInvestmentProject.co.uk (otherwise you won’t qualify) to get started.
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Disclaimer: I'm just a landlord blogger; I'm 100% not qualified to give legal or financial advice. I'm a doofus. Any information I share is my unqualified opinion, and should never be construed as professional legal or financial advice. You should definitely get advice from a qualified professional for any legal or financial matters. For more information, please read my full disclaimer.
Why are you bothering to text to remind the tenant to pay? A firm letter telling them that the are breaking their contract and that if it continues then you will have no option to seek increased rent payments to cover the interest lost by their actions. Be polite then kick em out and get someone else in your property