Transitioning from Old Tenant to New Tenant

It’s a excellent thought to prepare for losing a tenant before the lease is really up. Go to your file cabinet and pull the tenant’s file for review. Make sure you have all the necessary paperwork in order, including any notices required if you do not wish to renew the lease. Or, if the tenant has informed you that they will not be renewing, then start preparing for your new tenant.

Preparation for at least a one- to two-week window linking tenants. Some landlords have rented units out before the previous tenant has went—which can be a recipe for disaster! You have no control over when or whether a tenant will really vacate your material goods. What will you do if the new tenant tries to go in, and the ancient one refuses to leave?

In this linking-tenant time frame, you will be busy! Schedule the final walk-through and go out inspection with the ancient tenant for immediately after they have went their belongings out and the unit is completely empty. You don’t want to be in the position where the tenant has went away and cannot make it back for the go out inspection. Both parties should pocket part in this process together, to avoid distrust or fake accusations of hurts.

Once the go-out inspection is over, you can quickly assess hurts and preparation for any repairs, repainting, or replacing of fixtures, carpet, and walls. A thorough cleaning, pest inspection and treatment, and carpet cleaning can be scheduled at this time.

At this stage, you’ll know how much time you’ll need before you can place a new tenant in the unit. If you haven’t lined up a new tenant, increase your advertising and word-of-mouth efforts to speed up the process.

You can show the rental material goods while repairs and cleaning are being done; emphasize to potential tenants that the unit will be 100% habitable before they go in.