April 2018 commemorates the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 – The Fair Housing Act – prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings based on race, color, religion, or national origin. Congress has twice amended the Fair Housing […]

Most employers use background checks when considering an applicant for employment. Federal law does not prohibit employers from asking applicants about their criminal history or conducting a criminal background check as long as compliance requirements are met. However, many states and local jurisdictions have enacted prohibitions or restrictions on the use of criminal background checks […]

Landlord liability can result from negligence, violation of health and safety laws, failure to repair, failure to maintain the rental premises in a safe and habitable condition, or intentional harm to others and property. Landlord duties and responsibilities regulate property management operations. Failure to perform according to statutes for health, safety, and habitability are breaches […]

A landlord has a legal responsibility to take reasonable care to protect tenants from foreseeable harm. Legal obligations for tenant safety may be specified under state statutes, local ordinances, building and housing codes, and case law. The landlord’s duty of care extends to protect tenants from third party criminal acts and correspondingly to protect the […]

Yes, you could be held liable for a tenant’s injury that occurred on your rental property if you have acted in a negligent manner and the tenant’s injury was caused by your negligence. A landlord has the duty of reasonable care to help protect the safety of his tenants. Landlord liability for tenant claims of […]

The tenant move-out process should be a simple and easy process. Both landlord and tenant want the move-out to be as trouble-free as possible. With some preparation and planning prior to lease expiration date, landlords and tenants can simplify the move-out process and help ease some of the stress of move. For many tenants, the […]

Landlords must anticipate tenant turn-over and have a tenant retention strategy to minimize vacancies and reduce expenses associated with tenant turnovers. Lease renewals benefit a landlord in many ways. A good tenant is most often a good neighbor, a good caretaker of the rental unit, and can be depended upon for timely payment of the […]

As with many property management decisions, it can depend upon market conditions, market rents, the property itself, the amenities already provided, and the tenant in question. Offering an incentive for lease renewal can be cost-effective for a landlord saving the costs of vacancy while helping a good tenant save the costs and stress of moving. […]

If your rental units have become a revolving door of move-ins and move-outs, minimizing tenant turnover should be a top priority of your property management. Tenants move for a variety of reasons and stay for a variety of reasons, most of them personal to the tenant. If good tenants are moving for reasons that you […]

The following discussion is an abbreviated version of an article I once wrote for the Web site. Cosigners or guarantors are sometimes of importance when rental market conditions result in no applicants who meet a landlord’s qualifying criteria. They are also particularly useful when the location of the rental property means that most applicants are […]