- Not paying rent on time. This is most likely the first important factor in determining whether or not you will be a good tenant. If you fall behind on your rent, your Dunwoody property manager is perfectly within his or her rights to initiate eviction proceedings against you. Not just that, but struggling to pay your rent on time can endanger your credit score.
- Making too much noise or disturbing other tenants. You’ll give your landlord many complaints against you when you are always being loud or upsetting other tenants. The more grievances your landlord receives, the less likely they will be to renew your contract at the end of its term.
- Damaging the property or not taking care of it. There is another common sign of a bad tenant. Damaging the property or neglecting to fix it, your landlord would need to spend money to repair it. This costs them a lot of cash, and they may decide to keep your security deposit or evict you in extreme cases.
- 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 is vital to alert your landlord of any matters as early as possible.
- Having pets when you’re not supposed to. You might feel that your landlord will not notice that you keep pets when they are not permitted, but they will. If your lease clearly states that pets are not allowed, this is a breach of your lease terms, and you may get evicted.
- Bringing in unauthorized guests. Unauthorized visitors or residents are treated the same way. For legal purposes, your landlord must be informed of everyone living in your rental home, such as relatives who tend to stay a long time. Unauthorized guests may cause legal complications for you and your landlord if something goes wrong.
- Smoking inside or using drugs. Another sign of a bad tenant is this. Smoking inside or using drugs (if the drugs are illegal) can get you evicted, arrested, or both, by a frustrated landlord if your lease prohibits these and you do them anyway.
- Ignore your lease terms. You may believe that ignoring any of your lease terms, including those we’ve already discussed, will not have a significant impact in the short term. But your landlord will eventually find out sooner or later, and they will be indignant. This may result in a warning or even eviction from the property.
Be certain to avoid these things now that you know how not to be a bad tenant! 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 Dunwoody.