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If you have an apartment to rent out, then you'd better be prepared to act as a patient, honest and responsible landlord if you want to your would-be tenants to be happy. If you can't or you think it would be a lot of work, then please don't try to rent the apartment out. The returns from renting out the apartment may be good, but to be able to reap the benefits for a long time, you must be patient enough to deal with your tenants.

Just ask this question: if you were a renter, what would be the things that you wish your landlord would not do during your stay at the apartment? Putting it another way, what sort of landlord do you wish to have? Isn't it good when the landlord:

- sorted out all issues with you i.e. the dos and don'ts, right from the start before you move in, so that you'll know beforehand the parameters to keep within in order to let him leave you alone? He would have drawn up a short contract for both parties to agree to that's just alright if the terms are reasonable.

- cleaned the apartment before you moved in with your stuff, put up a new coat of paint and even hung a few pictures on the walls, just to spruce up the appearance of the whole place even though it's not in the contract? Nothing beats the welcoming sight of a gleaming apartment for a new tenant.

- ensured all utilities within the apartment are in good working order when you come in? You don't want this to happen: you fall down the first few steps in the dark when you decide to move some stuff over to the apartment at night, because the electricity has been cut off as the landlord refuses to settle the unpaid electricity bills left by the previous tenant.

And assuming that, as a tenant, you are not the tenant from hell', it is reasonable to expect that the landlord:

- responds to problems at the apartment that requires immediate attention, like a burst pipe. The landlord would have either given you a list of his trusted repairmen whom you could contact and get things back in good order within a reasonable time, or would have contacted the repairmen himself if wants to keep track of the repairs made and, of course, the costs which he would have to bear.

- will leave you in peace to enjoy your stay at the apartment, and won't be coming in to inspect the apartment every week or so.

- pays for all monthly charges that he has agreed to pay, either in advance or on time, so that you may enjoy the common facilities at the apartment building. It's embarrassing when you are barred from utilizing any of the common facilities because your landlord is constantly late with his payments.

Most of all, the normal tenant would want to be treated as human beings, not mere money-making machine for the landlord. They would treasure a landlord who treats them with respect. By all means be firm with your rights as a landlord, and insist on prompt payment of rent, but be polite and show some empathy if the tenant has problems which he says he will sort out (this usually refers to rent). At least the tenant is up front with you about it.

Most of the time you will get a fairly decent tenant, but if you are unlucky enough to get a difficult one, that's where you have to ensure you can have the right to do whatever is necessary legally - to get them to leave.

Learn more about this author, Saladin.
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