Besides the extra headaches and stresses that come with self-managing your commercial property, the biggest drawback is also the most damaging– it comes at the cost of your relationship with your tenants.
As your commercial property is your most valuable asset, keeping your tenants in your property for as long as possible is key to getting the most out of your investment. To do that, you need to ensure you have a healthy relationship.
Quiet enjoyment
Tenants are legally entitled to certain rights throughout commercial property leases, one of those being ‘quiet enjoyment’.
Quiet enjoyment is set on the basis that the tenant complies with their tenancy obligations (paying rent on time, etc.). It allows tenants to use the premises to their full benefit without interference from the landlord.
This obligation will likely be included in your Deed of Lease. It is fundamental to your relationship with your tenants that you understand what quiet enjoyment is and adhere to it.
Doing things ‘your way’
When you’re doing things on your own, it can be easy to slip into handling things casually, which might mean not always abiding by the rules.
These might start as small, seemingly non-consequential acts, but as a landlord, your behaviour sets a standard.
If your way of managing a commercial property becomes too casual, your tenants might start to mirror that behaviour. Payments start to fall behind, or obligations to maintain premises aren’t followed. Ultimately, they’ll take your position as a landlord less seriously.
This will result in a tense landlord-tenant relationship, with neither side fulfilling their responsibilities.
There’s also the probability that you will have a more seasoned tenant who knows the rules and will be quick to identify a landlord that isn’t following them.
Reputation
As the saying goes, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.”
This is especially true with being a commercial property landlord. Your reputation follows you. Even in an opportunity-packed market, tenants will remember your name.
Having a bad reputation for how you’ve managed even one property will have a ripple effect on your other properties and even on future investments.
Ruining your reputation as a landlord doesn’t need to be something significant like failing to meet quiet enjoyment obligations. It can be as simple as missing a phone call about a repair.
For example, if you’re on holiday, reaping the rewards of your commercial property investments, and your tenant calls you to report a leaky roof (something that would need fixing with urgency), and you miss it, that will have significant implications for your relationship.
Personal attachment
It’s almost impossible not to become attached when it’s your investment that you’re managing. As your most valuable asset, it’s not surprising that this might result in emotions blurring logic when challenges arise (and they will arise at some point).
This is especially true if you’re renting to a tenant you have a previous relationship with (a friend or a family member).
Tensions will build up, issues will become personal, and the entire relationship won’t be a lasting one.
Using a commercial property manager
A commercial property manager will act as your landlord-tenant relationship navigator. With protecting your investment being their main priority, any good property manager will understand how much of that relies on a healthy relationship with the tenant.
Property managers will have a thorough understanding of both landlord and tenant obligations and will strictly adhere to maintaining responsibilities and holding tenants accountable.
Consistently delivering their services throughout each of your properties, your property manager will help establish a positive reputation for you in the market (even if you’re on holiday).
Best of all – as an outside party, the emotional aspect of managing a commercial property is completely removed.
Azure Property has been successfully managing commercial property landlord-tenant relationships for years, ensuring that landlords get the most out of their investments.
Get in touch with one of our experts today to see how we can help maintain your tenant relationships.