Should You Be Friends with Your Landlord?

Making sure you maintain a good relationship with your Jacksonville landlord can make life a lot easier. However, would it be a good idea to be friends with your landlord? May it be renting from a friend or cultivating a friendship with your landlord, there are some considerations to keep in mind. Landlord-tenant friendships can work, but it does take effort. It is always good to proceed with caution and follow these basic guidelines to ensure that your rental relationship won’t ruin your personal one.

Document Everything

The days of doing business with a handshake are long gone. Once you decide to rent a house from a friend, be sure you receive a detailed lease that clearly outlines your rights and responsibilities. If you have agreed on items that are not in the lease, document everything. This documentation of your landlord’s expectations will protect you in case there are changes in any circumstances. It will also help hold both you and your landlord accountable.

Separate Business and Pleasure

Your friendship with your landlord will benefit from healthy boundaries to govern your landlord-tenant interactions as well as your social time together. Rental home-related topics should stay out of social settings and do not expect your landlord to accommodate all your requests just because you are friends. If you do this, your roommates or other tenants will notice this special treatment and it can cause problems between you, your landlord, and them. You should always remember that despite being your friend, being a landlord is your friend’s business, so keep it professional.

Set Boundaries

Together with keeping your business and personal relationships separate, it is also wise to set good boundaries with your landlord. Your landlord might think it is okay to invite themselves into your home or to your possessions as a close friend would. Doing this often crosses the line between being a landlord and taking advantage of a friend. When a landlord starts to cross one boundary, the likelihood is high that he will also overstep in other ways. It is on you to stop this behavior as soon as it starts to happen. With good boundaries, your can keep your relationship with your landlord pleasant.

Anticipate Awkwardness

Because of your friendship with your landlord, you become comfortable talking to and around them on a regular basis. However, there could be times where these conversations can get awkward, especially if you find yourself discussing other tenants or your landlord’s businesses that have nothing to do with your rental situation. You may also feel the pressure to invite your landlord to your social events especially when he spends a lot of time on the property. This can become a problem if your landlord expresses hurt feelings for being left out of the social activity in your rental home. Although it can be awkward, you have to make it clear that your friendship does not mean you have to include your landlord in all the things you do. Also, do not expect an invitation to all of their social gatherings. Neither of you will benefit from blurring the lines of your relationship.

As you can see, becoming friends with your landlord or renting from a friend can be a challenge and the road is filled with potential pitfalls. If you want to protect your friendship from these complications, it would be best to keep things polite but professional with your landlord

Are you looking for a Jacksonville rental house managed by true professionals? Then think about getting to know our Jacksonville property management team! Contact us online or call us at 910-782-4488.