How to be a good tenant

Session 1: Engaged James in a discussion about the importance of being a good tenant. Informed him that being a good tenant impacts not only current housing, but future housing as well. Explained that when he applies for new housing, his former landlords may be contacted as part of the background check and asked about whether or not he was a good tenant. Future landlords might also ask to speak with other people, such as his mental health worker, who are familiar with how he maintains his living space and interacts with others. Brainstormed to come up with ideas about what "being a good tenant" means. Among the qualities we identified were paying the rent on time; keeping the apartment clean; being respectful of property, landlord, and neighbors; making sure necessary maintenance or repairs are made; and following rules regarding noise, pets, etc. Went over each of these in detail, providing examples that were specific to James and his housing situation. Asked James to think about these qualities over the coming week and identify any areas that might be in need of improvement.

Session 2: Last week I asked James to consider the qualities necessary to be a good tenant and identify areas he felt might be in need of improvement. Today I worked with James to establish realistic goals in the areas he identified, along with 3 plans of action to help him achieve each goal. Provided copies of a simple form he can use to write these down on. The form consists of 4 boxes. In the top box, James will write his goal statement. In the boxes under that, he will describe the actions he plans to take to achieve that goal. Assisted James in completing a goal-action plan for following apartment rules. As plans of action, we agreed on "Thoroughly review my lease and ask questions about anything I don’t understand", "Read all posted notices in a timely manner", and "Contact my apartment manager for approval before making any decisions that might impact my housing".

Session 3: Continued working with James on creating plans of action for being a good tenant. James has been having trouble getting along with some of his neighbors, and in a previous session, he identified "being respectful of property, landlord, and neighbors" as one of the qualities necessary to be a good tenant. So today we created an action plan to address this issue. For the goal of increasing positive interactions with neighbors, we agreed on the following 3 plans of action: 1) Establish a good relationship with my neighbors before problems come up by offering a friendly greeting, smiling, introducing myself, and making small-talk if the opportunity presents itself; 2) Ask my neighbors to turn the volume down politely, by going to their door, saying excuse me, and making my request in a non-threatening manner; and 3) When volume levels are high, consider using that time to run errands, visit friends, or do another activity that takes me away from my apartment. 

Session 4: Continued creating plans of action with James with the goal of helping him become a better tenant. Today we established 2 more goals, "To ensure I pay my rent on time every month, I will…" and "To appropriately inform my apartment manager of a concern, I will…". Agreed on 3 actions James will take to achieve each of these goals and helped him write them down on the forms I provided. Suggested he post these forms in a place he was likely to see them every day, such as on his refrigerator or the inside of his front door. Confirmed with James that he felt the goals were realistic and achievable based on his unique abilities and circumstances. Praised him for developing goals and plans of action to complete them.

Session 5: Engaged James in a discussion about how his mental health diagnoses have impacted his previous and current living situations. Asked him to consider whether he was able to complete his ADLs without assistance or prompts from others; if he felt property managers or neighbors avoided interacting with him because of past behavior; if he had ever been asked leave a residence for being disruptive; and if he got easily frustrated with property managers if his concerns were not immediately addressed. Reminded him that it was important to empathize with new landlords and neighbors who might not be familiar with the behavior of people living with mental health challenges. Assured James that he was not required to share his mental health diagnoses with landlords or neighbors, but that should a situation arise that brings out problematic behaviors related to his diagnoses, the occurrence could be better understood by the others involved if they were aware of his challenges. Explained that if he preferred not to discuss his mental health challenges with people outside his treatment team, it was especially important for him to manage any symptoms that might make being a responsible renter and neighbor more difficult.

Session 6: Educated James about the various reasons an apartment manager or landlord might enter his apartment. Goal is to alleviate feelings such as mistrust, paranoia, or anxiety related to people entering his personal space. Explained that unless there was an emergency (i.e., smoke alarm going off, strong smell of gas, or flooding of nearby units) the manager was required to give him 24-hour notice. Reasons for entry with advance notice were generally limited to making necessary repairs, assessing the need for repairs, or showing the apartment to prospective new tenants. Explained that the property manager might also enter his apartment to perform a welfare check, if he wasn’t responding to phone calls or continuous knocking on the door, but that no one could enter his apartment simply to check up on him. Role-played the part of a landlord informing James that I planned to enter his apartment later in the week, whether he was present or not. When the role-play was finished, I evaluated James’s responses and provided feedback about how he could reframe questions and statements to improve communication.