Four Things Business Owners May Be Doing To Hurt Their Relationship With The Landlord

If you own a business, you may have a landlord. That is, you may be leasing your commercial space, which can potentially be a scary proposition. After all, occasionally stores will close because the landlord doesn't renew the lease. Or maybe the commercial leasing company will renew, but the business owners can't come to satisfactory terms. Sometimes, the landlord and business owner will disagree about who should pay for renovations. If you are a solopreneur working out of your home, that can be even more frightening if you're behind on your rent and struggling. You could be evicted from your home and lose your workplace in one fell swoop.

The harsh reality is that you never know what problems you could have with a landlord.

Fortunately, my career in property management grants me some insight that may help you have a better relationship with your landlord. If you're getting on your landlord's nerves, it's likely that you're doing one or more of the following.

It probably goes without saying, but if you're even a day late with that check, that isn't going to instill much confidence in you from your landlord. Arguably, you probably have a little more leeway if you're working out of your home; if there's a grace period, you can pay a few days late without worrying about an apartment manager showing up at your door.

But you certainly don't want to be late if you're renting out commercial space. Remember, your landlord could decide not to renew your lease. Don't give your landlord an excuse to do that.

Always try to get your rent paid on time. Your landlord, like you, is running a business and also has bills to pay. If you want to stay in your landlord's good graces, pay on time, every time.

The sharper your place of business looks, the better your landlord is going to feel about leasing the property to you. If your storefront is constantly a bit dilapidated, that sends a message to the landlord. They may assume you're damaging the property in some way, other than simply not keeping it clean.

I'm not saying you'll be evicted for running a business that isn't clean, but it could work against you when your lease expires and you're looking to renew it.

If your landlord has other tenants in the building and your store is an eyesore, it won't only be the people who collect your rent who will be ticked off. The business owners around you will also be upset, and might mention it to your landlord.

Bad employees can also bring down your business. It isn't just poor customer service that you have to worry about with toxic employees, such as somebody who is habitually late or simply not good at their job. If you have immature or irritating staff members who are unpleasant to, say, a store next door, that can get back to the landlord, too.

Your landlord doesn't want to see tenants unhappy, and if you're the cause of the unhappiness, that could affect you come renegotiation time.

Or maybe your store starts competing with a neighboring business, selling things that take away from their profits. If the landlord feels that you're interfering with another tenant's bottom line - and their ability to pay the rent - that could be a problem, too.

Too much communicating with questions and issues coming up every day can drive your landlord nuts. But I recommend that you don't become a complete stranger, either, especially if you have ongoing complaints or questions.

For instance, maybe your commercial lease allows you to renovate on your own, but you have questions about the extent of the renovations. Either way, if you aren't sure, you should talk to your landlord before, say, knocking down a wall. That may sound obvious, but landlords have had problems with this sort of thing before.

And if you have complaints, share them with your landlord. But be a human being about it. Some tenants end up losing their cool about some issue and blasting the landlord or apartment manager. You may have reasons to be angry, but remember, landlords and apartment managers are people, too. Ruining your relationship could hurt you if you need to renegotiate a lease down the road. But if you get along, you can probably work out any problem that develops.

Besides, it simply makes sense to get along with your landlord. The people you rent from want you to be happy where you work and possibly live, and they want your business to thrive. After all, if you're doing well, your landlord is doing well.