March 29, 2024

Fryer And Brown

Creating Your Dream Home

Commercial Property Managers – Tips for Handling Tough Commercial Tenants

When you manage or lease commercial property, it is common to come across tough tenants that will not cooperate. As the property market becomes more difficult, this problem can increase as tenants become more critical of the circumstances and pressures relating to their occupancy or the property itself.

More often than not, tenants will become difficult for their own reasons and will have planned the process; that is why taking notes and recording the activities of all parties is fundamentally important.

The creation of a paper trail including the evidence of agreements and comments will always be important to the process. Tenants and landlords will say many things and give specific instructions relating to the problem; these must be recorded on paper and acknowledged to the people concerned.

When this tenant difficulty happens, you must immediately refer to the lease document to ascertain exactly what situations and circumstances should occur. Give due regard to the timeliness of your response and the instructions of your client the landlord.

The most important facts to be considered in these situations are:

  • The lease documentation terms and conditions that apply to the tenant and the landlord
  • Local property legislation that applies to the property and the location
  • The circumstances and situations that have created the problem
  • The actions and responses of the people concerned
  • The paper trail and records that relate to the event
  • Any impact on the other occupants in the building or the landlord

It should be said that some tenants would normally and happily cooperate in their day-to-day occupation and running of the building, but the events of the property or the responses of the landlord or property manager can frustrate them. Property maintenance and air conditioning performance are some of the most emotive issues relating to commercial tenants and property occupation.

It is no secret that some landlords take time to respond to problems in a property and that can inflame the tenant relationships. If you have to manage or lease a property in such circumstances, always take notes of events and instructions.

When situations get out of control, it is the lease document that explains the relationships between the parties and the actions that need to be taken. If the lease document is unclear regards any current situation of difficulty, is best to refer to a solicitor to seek guidance before any action is taken.

It is no secret that risk, liability, and negligence are factors that can have impact on the property landlord, tenants, or property manager. When disagreements occur, the actions and reactions of people to the problem become critical to the process and outcome.