EdgeProp.my Fireside Chat: No fool proof countermeasure against ‘rogue’ tenants, but these are the red flags

PETALING JAYA (Dec 7): Prevention is always better than cure, so identifying a potential rogue tenant is important for landlords to prevent falling into a rental nightmare. However, there are still times when even with levels of filtering done, you would still end up with ‘rogue’ tenants. 

​There are many kinds of bad tenants, including those who default on rental payment, overstay, do not look after the properties, do not respect the neighbours and use the property for illegal businesses and so on.

At EdgeProp.my’s virtual Fireside Chat entitled “How to avoid tenants from hell” today, three experienced property negotiators and agents shared their unique experiences on the often overlooked ‘red flags’ of potentially bad tenants.

The Facebook live session was hosted by EdgeProp.my editor-in-chief and managing director Au Foong Yee.

Based on the experience of Reapfield Properties (Puchong) Sdn Bhd probationary estate agent Roslan Shapri, despite a good profile and good payment track records, if the tenant only pays rent in cash, it is a red flag as the job he is doing might be illegal.

Reapfield Properties (HQ) Sdn Bhd senior real estate negotiator Joyce Perera shared that if someone decided too fast without any hesitation right after a brief viewing of the premise, or if the person wants to move in almost immediately, he could have issues with his previous tenancy.

Hence, inquiry and investigation are important in filtering tenants. She added that for a corporate lease, she would ask for all relevant documents including the company’s information in the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM).

“Homework needs to be done to make sure that the company is really operating and has the ability to pay the rent,” she said.

Meanwhile, Reapfield Properties (SJ) Sdn Bhd senior real estate negotiator Carmen Lee suggested that when possible, try to search the potential tenant on the Internet or in social media to get to know more about the person. “While we cannot judge a book based on its cover, at least it gives us an indication of what the person is like,” she noted.

Apart from this, she shared an example of a landlord asking the tenant to present his CTOS credit report in exchange for a rental deduction. “This can lead to a win-win situation, as the landlord gets an assurance on the credibility of the tenant, while the tenant can get cheaper rent,” she said.

Tonight’s virtual Fireside Chat was organised by EdgeProp.my and supported by Nippon Paint Malaysia.

Missed the virtual fireside chat? View the full session here.

For the full report on the virtual Fireside Chat read the December 11, 2020 issue of Edgeprop.my pullout.

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