Dealing with difficult landlords is overwhelming but possible. The good thing is that Philly is genuinely known to be an amazing place to live for everyone. From college students and young professionals to families with kids, and even retirees! Philadelphia has so much to offer for everyone. It has Ivy league schools, a steady and growing job market, amazing nature, parks, and beaches for both families and retirees. It’s an affordable and amazing place to live in no matter what age you are. But first, let us give you a few tips on how to deal with difficult landlords if you opt for renting a place to live. 

How to deal with difficult landlords

Renting a place has become a common practice as property prices are not so affordable for first home buyers. Not only that, maybe you are not even interested in buying a place but you need somewhere to stay. Either way, when renting out any type of place you have to deal with a person called the Landlord. If you are lucky enough, your landlord might be reasonable and amazing. But in case he or she is not, here are some of the tips on how to handle them. 

Review and inspect your lease agreement

Depending on the nature of your issue, before filing a complaint, make sure to review your contract. Let’s say you decided to bring in the pet and your landlord refuses. Filing complaint is absurd if the contract points out that pets are not allowed. Make sure to know exactly what your lease agreement includes.

Acquire necessary documentation

In case the issue escalates, it’s much better for you to have some sort of proof to back your claim. To ensure that you have proper documentation, always make your requests in writing (and keep the replies in your records). Make sure your requests are clear and in writing. Communicate via email or text. In case you had a face-to-face or over-the-phone conversation, make sure to keep a record of it. Or simply write down a text or email regarding it that starts with something like “Per our phone call, we made an agreement…” etc.

Document everything

Photo or video evidence is always the best way to prove your point. There’s one more thing you should do. When moving in, photograph the place. Thus, you avoid any unpleasant surprises once the time comes for you to claim your security deposit. You should also snap before and after shots if you are planning some remodeling like painting or something similar. Of course, every remodeling should be discussed with the landlord first.

Always stay calm and respectful when talking to the difficult landlords

No matter how rude or difficult landlords might be, it’s of utmost importance that you stay calm and reasonable in all communications. When talking, make yourself clear and point out everything you need to but remain respectful. Otherwise, your landlord will become even more frustrated. It’s possible he had a bad day and is taking it out on you, so just try to stay calm.

Pick your battles wisely when you deal with difficult landlords

On the other side, please don’t be that tenant who always complains about every single thing. It’s absurd to expect your landlord to show up and fix everything. If there is something you can solve on your own ( as long as it does not go against the contract terms ), then you can do it yourself. Just make sure to inform the landlord of course. This will be a good opportunity to bond with him and show that you are not high maintenance. This will also show that he can count on you to handle small things and will build up trust.

Do not miss payments and be a good tenant

One of the things we humans like to do is put the responsibility on someone else. Before you start with the ”I have a difficult landlord” tantrum, make sure to review your behavior. Make sure that you follow all the terms of your lease and that you are a reasonable tenant. This way your landlord won’t have anything to hold against you in case you file a complaint. 

Have a talk with other tenants

In case you live in an apartment building, you can always reach out to other tenants. You can ask them about your issue(s) and check how they handled it in case they had a similar problem. If the building has a tenant’s association, you should join. If it’s a building-wide problem, filing the complaint as a group or through an association will have more impact.

Last-minute relocation

In case you have tough luck and your landlord is really difficult, another option is to just move out. Since this is kind of last minute, you can always engage professionals to help you out. They know how to conduct your hurried relocation properly so you can avoid additional stress while moving out.

Hiring professional movers

Whether it being last minute or you simply decided to move out, we still suggest relying on professionals. People in this industry have a lot of experience and they just know how to handle everything. From packing to transportation, companies like Superior Moving & Storage offer everything you need. The best thing about this is that you have nothing to worry about since you have experts handling everything. You only have to relax and focus on other things you have to prepare before the move.

You are all set

If you follow this guide, we are sure you’ll have no trouble. Make sure to remember all of the above-mentioned things as we are sure they will help you handle difficult landlords.