Fighting a Rental Tribunal Claim

 It can be tempting to try to negotiate a good rental deal yourself before heading to the rental tribunal. But be careful - the Residential Landlord's Council (SLCC) may not offer you the best possible deal and may even go against your interests. Property owners often have much more experience than tenants and therefore understand exactly what to anticipate when heading into a rental tribunal. But there are usually a few simple rules that can ensure that the desired result is achieved. Read ahead for 5 tips that can help you negotiate better with the tribunal.

* Communicate with your tenant directly - The easiest way to negotiate better terms is to speak to the tenant directly. If you have any questions about the lease or the rental agreement, don't hesitate to ask your tenant, in person or via a message board or e-mail. Most of the time, you can also negotiate better terms by simply explaining to your tenant that the terms of the agreement are not being offered to you because of 'unclear' issues, but rather that the tenant wants to take them away from you. Once you have the conversation in hand, you can proceed to head to the rental tribunal.

* Mediation First - Once you've had the chance to speak to your tenant, it's important to proceed to mediation first. Many properties to choose to mediate the dispute out of court, but mediation can be extremely helpful, especially if both sides are relatively amicable to one another. Either party that wishes to proceed with a dispute resolution conference can certainly do so after mediation.

* Negotiate a lower rent increase - Many landlords who have gone to the rental tribunal in an attempt to prevent a rent increase, have not considered the ramifications this could have on their business. A rent increase is often required by law, if a property has not been fully occupied for thirty days or more. Even if your tenant only requests a rent decrease of three per cent, or even just one per cent, you could end up having to deal with a huge legal battle with your former tenant. This is why it's always a good idea to first contact your potential tenants and get some basic information about them before you make any decisions. It will also help you know if you need to mediation to get the rent decrease they are requesting.

* Dispute Settlement Conference - If you decide that it's simply not in your best interest to go to the rental tribunal, you can also try a dispute settlement conference with your former tenant. If you do choose to go to the conference, you may find yourself agreeing to something that you didn't initially request. For example, you may agree to a 'time-period' that runs out after a certain number of months. Another common scenario is where one party files a claim and then the other 'jumps ship' and accepts the settlement offer. This is another situation where mediation may prove beneficial as you would get a fair deal.

* Review of Your Tenancy - Once you have decided to go to the rental market and fight for your right to be free from your lease, you also need to do your own review of your relationship with your tenant. Often, we go into a rental market knowing that there is a problem, but by the time we actually step into the property our view may not be so clear. If you want to fix the problems, your best bet is to hire a good lawyer to do a report and give you suggestions on how to fix the problems. In addition, if you really want to fix your relationship with your tenant, you can do a complete overhaul of the rental agreement to suit your needs.