Documenting Interactions: 10 Documents Every Landlord Should Have On File

Make your life easier having the right documents on file for quick access.

Being a landlord requires you to do some paperwork. Make it easier on yourself by keeping the right documents on file for quick access.

If you believe wealth building should include passive income—generating a monthly income while doing little or no work—it can be hard to be a landlord. You might not feel the money your properties generate is truly passive. After all, you’re working hard. But there are ways to be more efficient and organized, especially when it comes to documentation.

Online filing systems are excellent for keeping yourself organised and mobile. Google Mydrive or DropBox are a couple of options.

Move in inspection plus photo or video evidence

Having a move-in checklist documents the condition of the property before a tenant moves in. Barring normal wear and tear, your property needs to be in the same condition when the tenant moves out as when they moved in. If not, you can deduct the cost to repair any damages from the security deposit.

Without a move-in checklist, it could come down to your word against theirs. The move-in checklist helps both of you. If there’s pre-existing damage to the unit, you can note it in the move-in checklist. This gives tenants peace of mind that you won’t charge them for damages they didn’t create.

Application

Everyone who will live in your unit should fill out a rental application. You will want to run a credit and background check on all parties who will be living and/or paying rent for your property.

By requiring everyone to fill out an application and by screening all applicants, you lower your risk of winding up with a tenant who doesn’t pay rent. In the case that you do end up in tribunal, having all documents on hand will be a great assistance even if just to show the courts you know what you are doing.

Emergency Contact

It’s a good idea to have your tenant provide you with an emergency contact. You can have this as a separate form, or you can add space for this information in your lease.

There are two main reasons you want emergency contacts. If something happened to your tenant, such as an illness or injury, you need to know who to call. Also, if the tenant moves out without you knowing about it, and they still owe you rent, you’d have a better chance of finding them.

Lease

The lease states everything important about who is living in the property, what they should be paying and any special terms about how they are expected to conduct themselves in your property. If you end up in tribunal or needing insurance cover, you will need to provide a copy of your lease signed by all parties.

Tax information

Keeping all receipts and bills related to the property in one place will make your life much easier come tax time.

Lease renewal letter/notice

90 – 21 days before a fixed tenancy ends, you should send your tenant a notice to renew or vacate. The purpose of this letter is to determine whether your tenant intends to renew the lease or move out. Note: if you let the tenant stay in the unit after the lease period, but without signing a new lease, your tenant will roll onto a periodic tenancy requiring notice from either party to end the tenancy. You should let the tenant know if there will be a rent increase in the lease renewal letter and have a new letter go out each time a fixed tenancy ends.

Move out letter

The move-out letter contains instructions for your tenants on what to do when they move out. Send this to your tenant a couple of weeks before they’re scheduled to move out. Let them know the date and time that they, and their possessions, need to be out of your unit.

Let them know that if they abandon trash or junk, you may charge them for the cost of removal. Explain that you would like the unit left clean and undamaged, and list your specific expectations along with sending them a copy of the ingoing inspection report and any evidence (photo/video) to refer to.

Explain that they should lock up and tell them where to leave the keys. Also, double check you have the right email address where you can send the bond release form (or an explanation of the reason you’ll be keeping all or part of it).

All of this comes out to a tidy folder on your computer for quick referral.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this publication is exclusively for promotional purposes and is not to be relied upon for legal or contractual dealings. Tenant Source recommends you seek independent legal advice, and that you may need to seek technical or other advice and information prior to making any actions in regards to tenancies in your investment properties. Tenant Source Ltd including its staff and directors accepts no responsibility for any issues arising as a result of taking advice from this publication.