When people rent a property, they usually expect a trouble-free experience. The majority of the time, they can accomplish this by following a straightforward approach and guidelines. However, there might be certain disputes in agreements, or things might go wrong. Hence, you should prepare yourself for these situations in advance. When you prepare yourself, you can avoid being caught off-guard by a disagreement and find a better solution to resolve the problem. Here are some ways you can do to resolve different types of disputes between you and your landlord (or tenant):
Hire a Professional
Proprietors can usually handle, say, an eviction process of the tenant on their own. However, sometimes the situation becomes more complicated than imagined. In such scenarios, hiring professional help is something that can clear things out. The government regulations are particular, and experienced professionals proceed in a way that serves equal justice.
Therefore, hiring a real estate lawyer familiar with the procedural complexities involved in handling these disputes is crucial. Moreover, you can receive all the legal advice that can be helpful in other conflicts. Now, if you think about why you must hire an attorney, there can be several reasons.
For example, if you are a tenant, you might need professional assistance if your landlord:
- is not making necessary repairs to the property,
- has a discriminatory behavior,
- evicting you without reason or notice, etc.
On the other hand, if you are a landlord, you might require help when:
- your tenant sues you falsely,
- you want to draft a rental agreement, or
- you want to evict the tenant.
Put Everything in Writing
Whether you are the landlord or the tenant, having everything written on legal documents can be helpful. If you are the tenant, you can write the misgivings you have faced. Similarly, you can do the same with your reasons as the property owner.
You should try to be specific and to the point while describing the events that lead to the dispute in the first place. Putting down every detail in writing might reveal some aspects that the other party did not know before. Doing this can resolve the issue if the parties accept the terms and conditions of each other.
Avoid Personal Attacks
When in the middle of a dispute, you sometimes lose your calm and speak unnecessary things. Even if your allegations are legitimate, revealing some things unrelated to the legal process can make the resolution more difficult. Therefore, it is crucial that you only speak what the case demands and avoid reacting emotionally to the dispute.
Communicate with Other Party
In situations like this, there are high chances that there is no communication between both parties. This breakdown of communication can make the situation tougher to follow the resolution. Hence, a few experts recommend you should bring your difficulties to the other party’s notice.
There are several cases where people fail to respond to the concerns because they had no idea of its existence. Suppose you are a tenant and are facing some issues of physical damage. If you do not inform the owner, thinking they might notice the damage and do the needful, the dispute may start if that does not happen.
Communication can even solve these minor disputes without legal procedures when the parties understand each other’s problems. Hence, it is essential to talk it out.
Approach a Mediator
The mediation process can prove to be advantageous for both parties. In this process, a neutral third party assists the property owner and the tenant reach a mutually beneficial agreement. The process only occurs when the residential tenancies board believes a third party needs to resolve the dispute.
The process can be through telephone or face-to-face, as the parties prefer. The mediator communicates with both parties or sets up a private hearing. After speaking to both the parties and collecting enough shreds of evidence from them, the mediator reaches a resolution, which the mediator obliges both parties to accept. After that, both parties could sign the acceptance agreement, and the case gets resolved legally.
Go for Arbitration
Arbitration can be compared to mediation, except that it is a legally binding process. Just as in mediation, the third party will listen to both the parties and deliver a legally binding decision that you are bound to follow. That was not the case with mediation. You can reject the decision in mediation but not in arbitration.
In this situation, the professional has all the evidence to support the decisions made after the hearing. Therefore, in many cases, people who know they are wrong usually back out from the case and try to settle the disputes without any legalities.
These are some things you can do in a dispute and resolve it for betterment. In most cases, communicating with the other party or seeking help from a mediator will lead to a resolution without the need for the courts to intervene.
