JEDDAH, 24 November 2007 — Nonpaying tenants and delayed payments are the ultimate nightmare of landlords and something that very few of them can escape from, according to a report in Al-Madinah newspaper.
“Many tenants don’t bother paying on time to the extent that I end up knocking on their doors asking for rent,” said Muhammad Al-Malki, a landlord in Jeddah. “Tenants need to understand that building owners have their own payment commitments.”
“We face problems with limited income people, who pay their rent in the first year then either delay paying, disappear or stall the payment for the second year. If we file a complaint, then the authorities transfer our cases to the civil rights office. It’s a big headache,” Al-Malki said.
Hatem Al-Ghamdi, another property owner, said experience forced him to do background checks on his would-be tenants.
“I check their identities, check the number of members in the family and ask about their work and bank details. There are an awful lot of illegal activities taking place in the country lately. And identity fraud is one of them,” Al-Ghamdi said, adding that the hardcore criminals tend to be non-Saudis.
However, Hamid Muhammad, a tenant, believes landlords need to show consideration.
“The problem lies with landlords not taking into consideration tenants’ circumstances. ... Some landlords are so insistent that they increase the rent and ask for advance payments, or payment for water and sewage,” he said.
“Some landlords rent only to non-Saudis, because Saudi tenants are known to stall rent payments unlike foreigners who pay in advance,” he said.
