Letter to Tenants Regarding Coronavirus COVID-19

We created and sent the following letter to all our residents (and a similar one to property owners) to encourage empathy and cooperation between them during this time without creating a culture of abusing the system.  Out of hundreds of residents we only had 3 reach out and they had a plan in place.

Disclaimer:  I am not an attorney and am not giving you legal advice.  Please run anything past an attorney licensed in your state of business.

Dear Tenants, 

We know there is a lot of uncertainty right now. We also acknowledge that the relationship between landlords and tenants isn't always considered valued on either side. We want to take this time to let you know that we do care about and value you. We do not have all the answers right now. There isn't really a manual for what is happening today, but we believe if we are open and honest with each other, we can get through this. It will take some understanding, patience, transparency, and honesty on all sides for this to work.

On our end, we promise to listen to your situation and try to help find the best solution. On your end, we ask that you do not abuse this situation. Doing so will only compromise the people that really need the most help. We want you to have open and honest communication with our office. We cannot just cancel rent payments and get people out of leases, but here are some things we can both begin to do now to offset the worst that could happen:

1. If you do not have renter's insurance, we highly recommend it at this point. You can get it through <insert company name>  (our software company) or you can get it through the company you use for car insurance or maybe your health insurance provider.

2. There are rent assistance programs in <insert relevant info here> and many of the area non-profits and churches. Please only reach out to these agencies if you have lost income/hours or other catastrophic circumstances. If you do meet this criteria or know that you soon will, reach out NOW. Do not wait as funds are probably already depleted from the recent storm. You do not want to wait until it is too late to ask for help.

3. Consider roommates. We can easily add roommates to your leases. The pages on Facebook - Live East, Live West, Live South, Live North, and Rent Nashville all allow roommate ads. We cannot guarantee anything about these people so you do need to interview them and their pets, but we will run a credit and background check on them before they move in. We are also open to starting a roommate wanted/needed list at our office to help you.

4. If you have proof of loss of employment or hours/income and you know you won't be able to pay your rent, please reach out soon as possible, but it is on YOU to have some sort of plan. We will need to know as much information as possible - how long will this last? Can you get back on your feet or not? Do you have reserves for a certain amount of time? etc. We will help you as much as we can, but we need information. Please do NOT be afraid to talk to us. We are not just going to toss you out of your home the minute you disclose lack of employment (that isn't even legal), but we have a better chance of helping you the earlier we know. There is no shame in this and we will talk to you like human beings. Don't be embarrassed or fear it will be awkward.

Please understand we do not represent large corporations. Many of our property owners are just like you. They are average people that were relocated and wanted to keep their home, inherited a house from their grandma, or a landlord that still has a mortgage. They are unlikely to be able to afford waiving your rent unless the government waives their mortgages. They are not trying to be mean. They are really decent people and will help all they can. Believe it or not, they actually worry about all of you, too and want to help. They are sending emails and getting letters from us -like this one.

Again, this will take honesty, care, and compromise from us all to make it work. It won't be fun for any of us, but we can make it if we all work as a team. We got through the tornado and we will get through this too. 

Other notes:

Please do not freak out if a contractor arrives in a face mask and wearing gloves. It may look a bit weird or scary, but they are just being proactive about your safety as well as theirs. Maintenance is still up and running, but please try to prioritize the important things at this time.

Our physical office is going to be closed until April 15th with any changes to that timeline being evaluated as the situation evolves. We will be working remotely and transferring phones, but please text or e-mail where possible. We can schedule calls as needed, and always remember that correspondence is best so we can schedule the emergencies on the phone. 

We are glad you chose us to rent from and we think now is a great time for all of us to realize we are on the same side and work through this together. We know the recent closures are very scary for some of you and we want to help alleviate that stress as much as we can. Let us all be kind and have patience with each other. Hopefully, this will pass sooner than expected and we can go on with our lives, but we want to go ahead and have conversations and be prepared for as much as we can.

All the best,