If you receive frequent complaints about noise you should investigate the possible sources of noise disturbance. If the noise is persistently coming from a particular source that is within your control i.e. a tenant on your rental property, you must address the issue with the offending party and take appropriate action. If the noise is occasional and tracked to a source such as a one-time event, e.g. party, the host tenant could be given an oral warning and reminded of the lease rules regarding noise and disturbances. If the noise is as a result of your planned repair/improvements to the property, or street repair by the city, then perhaps a community bulletin regarding the planned work that may cause more than normal noise and disturbance would be an appropriate notification to tenants and to ask for their understanding.

There are some rental practices that can help a landlord handle noise complaints. As a first step, you should respond to the complaint as quickly as possible. Review your rental policy regarding noise and disturbance with the complaining tenant and explain you will handle the matter appropriate to the situation. Once you have investigated the matter and made your decision, you should advise the tenant that the matter has been addressed according to your lease terms and conditions.

Generally it is better to start with a simple conversation about the matter with the tenant who is allegedly creating the disturbance. It may be that the tenant doesn’t realize his actions have created a disturbance that annoys other tenants. An oral warning may be sufficient to solve the problem. Repeated violations of noise disturbances may require a written cure or quit notice to end the nuisance or be subject to eviction. The majority of states allow landlords to terminate a tenancy for a tenant’s repeated violation of the terms of the lease agreement. An eviction may be necessary to protect the rights of other tenants to peace and quiet. It is important to have adequate supporting documentation to accomplish that.

Noise and noise related complaints are part of community living. Landlords can help to reduce noise complaints through specific lease language, adequate tenant screenings, addressing complaints promptly, and enforcement of rules and regulations.

Noise is one of the most common tenant complaints in multi-family housing. You should take their complaints seriously and respond with an acknowledgement of the complaints. Ignoring a complaint from tenants is never a good business practice.

Listen to what your tenants say is the problem. If this is their first rental they may not have realized community living does have noise. Tenant complaints of excessive noise against another tenant can be troublesome since one tenant’s complaint of noise may simply be part of another’s tenant’s daily living routine. Noise happens with ordinary living activities. In multi-family living, even ordinary noise can be magnified. All tenants create some noise but some tenants are more sensitive to noise than others. It may take some time and effort on your part to investigate and evaluate whether the noise is from an everyday type of activity, or whether the noise exceeds normal limits such as ongoing events, e.g., dogs barking, tenants yelling, loud music playing, etc., from neighbors within the community.

Tenants may complain about noise that is not within the landlord’s control. Noise and disturbances that occur off the rental property, for example, loud street traffic, or a barking dog on a neighboring property can be nuisances but are not your responsibility.  A landlord’s responsibility is to manage his rental property by enforcing his rules and regulations. If a tenant’s dog barks all night or another tenant plays his music too loud, a landlord is expected to take responsibility, address the issue and take appropriate action.

It is important to address noise complaints in a timely manner. A landlord has the duty of care to ensure the tenant’s right to quiet enjoyment of the rental premises. The tenant’s quality of living can be compromised by a nuisance. Excessive noise is a nuisance. If a tenant’s nuisance complaint is ignored or dismissed without proper investigation, the landlord can be subject to legal actions filed by the tenant for tolerating the nuisance. Tenant remedies may include abatement of rents, release from the lease agreement, or even damage awards.

Additionally a landlord’s failure to protect tenants’ rights for quiet enjoyment could damage the reputation of his business and affect the marketability of his property. A landlord who tolerates a nuisance may find it more difficult to attract applicants, which could extend vacancy periods. More importantly, existing good tenants may choose to move on once their lease has expired.

Once your investigation has been completed, you must determine the appropriate course of action to be taken and follow through per your lease terms and conditions. You should provide feedback to the complainants. You should generate detailed documentation of the complaint, the actions taken, and the resolution of the matter should be kept in the tenants’ file. In the event of legal action, documentation of the matter may be needed to support your actions such as making an effort to solve the problem.

Strong lease clauses protect the landlord’s business. A strong lease is a risk management tool to defend against known risks and a risk preventative measure for unexpected events.

A lease agreement is a legal contract that governs the landlord-tenant relationship. The lease transfers possession, use and enjoyment of the rental premises from the landlord to the tenant for a specified period of time and for a stated amount of rent. The lease agreement is a working agreement between landlord and tenant that sets out duties, obligations, rights and responsibilities of each party. As a business tool a lease must be strong for enforcement of terms and conditions and provide remedy for lease default.

A detailed lease agreement helps to reduce tenant misunderstandings of important issues. The lease provides guidance to the tenant regarding the standard of conduct expected during tenancy. A short form generic lease cannot provide the detail required to properly inform the new tenant of rental policies and practices, rules and regulations specific to the named premises and the landlord’s business.

It will be the quality of the lease language, fully detailed to business necessity and legal compliances that will furnish the greatest protection for the landlord’s business. Failing to provide adequate detail of policies and practices or falling silent on important issues (wherein a lease does not address an issue) can prohibit or limit the landlord from exercising his rights n enforcement of lease terms and conditions or in a defense against legal actions. Having written detailed rules and regulations included within the lease helps the landlord to remain objective in handling landlord-tenant matters, particularly when enforcing rental policies.

There may be specific lease language required by state statute or local ordinance regarding lease issues of deposits, fees, landlord disclosures, or legal notices, etc. that must be inserted in the lease.

The following items are important lease issues that can help protect the landlord’s business.

• Date of execution
• Identification of parties to the contract
  • Landlord  or owner name
  • Tenant name (s)
• Identification of rental premises
  • Street address, unit number, city, state
• Term of the agreement
  • Fixed-term lease agreement (beginning and ending dates)
  • Rental agreement (month-to-month)
• Occupancy
  • Named tenants  and minor children only
• Use of Premises
  • Limited to residential purposes
  • No illegal activities
• Appliances or Equipment at rental premises
  • Landlord provided
  • Tenant to provide
• Joint and Several liability
  • Each adult tenant is jointly AND individually responsible for the entire rent amount and for any damages
• Severability
  • If any portion of the lease is held to be invalid, its invalidity will not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision of the lease
• Rents
  • Monthly amount
  • Due date
  • Manner of payment
  • Delivery of payment
  • Pro-rated first month’s rent
  • Last month’s rent
• Late Rent
  • Grace period, if required by law or desired by landlord
  • Late Fee Amount
  • Late Fee Application
• Fees
  • Returned NSF check fee
  • Other bank charges
  • Non-refundable fees
• Security Deposit
  • Dollar amount of security deposit
  • Use of deposit (per law)
  • Return of deposit
  • Itemized statement of deductions
  • Applicable state security deposit rules and requirements
  • Prior written approval from landlord if security deposit may be used for last month’s rent
• Move-in Procedures
  • Property inspection and checklist
  • Fees, deposits collected
  • Keys/access codes transferred to tenant
• Utilities
  • Tenant responsibilities
  • Landlord responsibilities
  • Disclosure of shared utilities
• Repairs and Maintenance
  • Tenant responsibilities
  • Landlord responsibilities
• Repairs and Alterations
  • Tenant alteration or repair to premises prohibited unless authorized by written consent of landlord or as provided by law
  • Tenant prohibited from altering, rekeying, or installing locks or security systems to premises unless authorized by written consent of landlord
• Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment
  • Tenant right to quiet enjoyment of rental premises
  • Tenant, guests, or invitees prohibited against violation of laws and ordinances, committing waste or creating nuisance
• Landlord Right to Access Rental Unit
  • Emergency access
  • Applicable entry by statute
  • Notice requirements for entry
• Property Inspections
  • Health, safety inspections as required
  • Scheduled property inspections for interior and external conditions
• Lease Defaults
  • Material terms and conditions of lease
  • Disruptive behaviors
  • Excessive noise
  • Criminal activity
  • Grounds for termination
• Guest Policy
  • Limitation of guest stay without approval
  • Written landlord approval needed for extended stays
• Sublease/Assignment
  • Tenant is prohibited from subleasing or assignment of rental premises
• Landlord Disclosures
  • Lead-based paint pamphlet
  • Other environmental disclosures
  • Disclosures required by state statutes or local ordinance
• Alarms and Detectors
  • Tenant acknowledgment of operable smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors at move-in
• Tenant Absence from Premises
  • Absences from the rental premises for more than the landlord specified number of days require written notification to landlord
• Alternative Dispute Resolution
  • Mediation
  • Arbitration
• Renters Insurance
  • Required to purchase renters insurance as a condition for tenancy
• Abandoned Property
  • Personal property of the tenant abandoned in the rental unit will be handled in accordance with state statute requirements
• Hold over Tenant

• Reverts to month-to-month,
• Automatic renewal for specific term, with a specified rent increase
• Lease terms and conditions may change including rent increase

• HOA
  • Tenant acknowledges receipt of HOA CC&Rs
  • Tenant held responsible to comply with HOA requirements and pay landlord for any penalties incurred
• Other Rental Policies
  • Property Rules and Regulations
  • Home-based Business
  • Pet Policy
  • Parking Policy
  • Smoking Policy
• Termination of Lease and Move-out Procedures
  • Tenant instructions regarding move-out responsibilities
  • Property inspection and checklist
  • Return of rental premises in good condition to landlord

The above mentioned lease provisions are not all inclusive of an adequate lease to protect business interests. Certain types of properties or certain locations of properties may require customized lease clauses that should be included in the lease agreement or as a referenced addendum to the agreement.

Lease clauses that that violate applicable federal, state, and local laws, i.e. Fair Housing, Americans with Disabilities Act, landlord-tenant statutes, zoning laws, building codes, health and safety codes, etc. are illegal.

The lease should not contain provisions that require the tenant to waive his rights under law. As examples, a tenant cannot waive the landlord’s responsibility of the warranty of habitability or agree to hold the landlord harmless for breaches of the warranty. A lease provision that prohibits the tenant from holding the landlord responsible for the landlord’s negligent acts or other attempt to circumvent landlord-tenant law is illegal.

A tenant may not be evicted without legal due process, that is, without notice or a hearing on the issue. In almost every state a lease agreement cannot contain a landlord lien clause, a provision that permits a landlord to take possession of the tenant’s personal property without due process because of non-payment of rent.

A lease agreement cannot contain a clause that penalizes a tenant for informing government authorities of a landlord’s violation of the law. Most states address the issue of retaliatory eviction in response to a tenant’s complaint to authorities by prohibiting a tenant eviction for any cause immediately following a complaint.

A significant percentage of problems related to property management can be avoided or at least minimized by adequate research of applicable statutes and attention to detail regarding business needs. As a result, a well drafted lease agreement can help protect the landlord’s business and help the tenant to comply with lease terms and conditions.

First check your state statutes and local ordinances to see if home-based businesses are addressed by statute or codes. Whether you should allow a tenant to operate a home-based business from your rental unit may also depend upon the type of business and the business practices involved. Some cities or jurisdictions may have ordinances that regulate certain types of home-based businesses operated from a residential property such as child care services.

Many standard leases utilize a lease clause that restricts the use of the premises by the tenant to residential purposes only. A business run from a residential property could be treated as a commercial operation and subject to requirements and limitations under applicable laws. How that would affect the landlord’s business would need to be determined regarding possible issues related to business licensure, inspections, insurance, taxes, and liabilities.

Operating a home-based business from a rental unit could be a potential violation of local zoning codes or other city codes. A landlord would need to check with local offices to determine compliance standards or restrictions on such use of the property. Zoning laws often address issues of the type of business, the size of business, business signage, the amount of traffic that may be generated, the availability of vehicle parking, the number of employees, and any unique requirements of the business.

A landlord should check with his insurance provider regarding current coverages and determine if there are restrictions or prohibitions against a tenant home-based business operating from the rental property. The landlord may need to purchase special coverage for potential liability for the tenant’s employees, guests, or customers that visit the rental property. Additionally the landlord may want to require the tenant to purchase his own special business liability insurance coverage to protect against potential liability if a client, customer, or employee was injured on the rental property.

Landlords must also take into consideration the duty of care to protect the current tenants’ rights to quiet enjoyment of the rental property, and protect against nuisance and negligent acts of others that come onto the property.

Parking issues could become a problem if your property doesn’t have the necessary extra parking and there’s not adequate street parking available.

Potentially the issue of most concern is that you and your friend don’t formalize the arrangement as a business relationship of landlord and tenant. A landlord should always keep his professional life separate from his personal life. If your friend rents from you, you are his landlord.  You should require your friend to follow the same rental procedures as any applicant – including application, fees and deposits, references, lease signing, move-in inspection, etc. You should conduct your normal tenant screenings. While there could be some potentially awkwardness in requiring your friend to furnish personal and financial information, keep in mind that you need to protect your business and comply with applicable fair housing laws and landlord-tenant statutes. Renting to family or friends should not be a problem if you communicate clearly to them that renting from you is a business transaction. The lease agreement is a legal contract between landlord (you) and tenant (your friend) with specific duties and obligations.

Your friend should understand that no special treatment can or will be given and that you require him to comply with all lease terms and conditions. You as the landlord will enforce your stated rental policies and practices in the event of a lease default by your tenant such as late or missed rent.

You should research what your state’s statutes say regarding the issue. An oral lease in most states is a legal contract enforceable against landlord and tenant if the rental term is month-to-month or for a term of one year or less. However as a practical business matter, all leases of any duration should be in writing because the written document provides a record of the terms of the landlord-tenant relationship so that lease terms and conditions can be easily and clearly understood by the lease signers, their heirs, or assignees.

Oral leases can cause problems for both landlords and tenants because many important rental issues are not covered or discussed in detail during a brief landlord and tenant conversation. A number of problems can potentially result if either landlord or tenant misunderstands the initial offering of terms and conditions of the rental agreement, misremembers or forgets certain terms during the tenancy, or one party makes false claims against the other regarding what was said in the conversation. As example, the tenant could claim the landlord made certain promises regarding rent terms or waiver of fees. A landlord would be limited in his defense of the claim because there was no writing of important rental terms and conditions.  A dispute regarding terms of an oral agreement if taken to court may end up with a decision based on circumstantial evidence, oftentimes a decision more favorable to a tenant.

In almost all states the Statute of Frauds laws require that contracts related to most real estate transactions be in writing. Real estate contracts for terms of more than one year must be in writing.

Typically landlords require a new tenant to pay the first month’s rent and a security deposit at the time of move-in. Some landlords also collect the last month’s rent as well. Whether the practice of collecting last month’s rent is a good business practice may depend upon the landlord’s business necessity and/or market conditions.  Whether that practice is even permissible for the state and local jurisdiction of his property must first be determined by the landlord.

In some states the last month’s rent is regarded as part of the security deposit. Including the last month’s rent as part of the security deposit may place restrictions on the amount, use, and accounting of the security deposit.

The purpose of a security deposit is to protect the landlord from financial damage caused by a tenant. Specifically a landlord may only recover funds from a tenant’s security deposit if the tenant has defaulted on his obligation to pay rent (owes past due rents) and/or the tenant has caused physical damage to the property that is beyond normal wear and tear allowed by statute. Last month’s rent is exactly that, the amount of money equal to one month’s rent. The money is to be used as payment of rent during the last month of tenancy.

The landlord views the security deposit and last month rent as two different types of money collections that offer financial protections against tenant defaults. However when the amount of the tenant’s security deposit is exactly the same amount as the tenant’s monthly rent, it can cause tenant confusion, misunderstandings, or conflict when the tenant is ready to move-out.

As noted above, due diligence is required to understand how state statutes address issues of deposits and rents. Some landlords mistakenly believe that last month rent can be used in the same manner as the security deposit – that is, to cover unpaid rent and property damages. If the last month’s rent is collected and designated as the last month’s rent, the landlord is limited in his use of the funds. The last month rent amount cannot be used for any other purpose other than last month’s rent.

Some tenants mistakenly believe that their security deposit can be used automatically for the last month’s rent. The landlord’s lease agreement terms and conditions should address in detail all issues regarding rents and deposits, and move-in/move-out policies and practices.

The total amount of funds to be collected must be researched. Most states limit the amount of security deposit that may be collected to an amount that is equal to one to two months’ rent. In those states that regard the last month rent as part of the security deposit, the total deposit amount that a landlord could collect would need to be split between the security deposit and the last month rent amount.

The landlord has a business decision to make regarding rents and deposits as financial protections against tenant defaults and damages.  As applicable to statutes and ordinances, should the landlord have a policy of collecting the last month’s rent at lease signing? It depends.

Collecting first and last months’ rent plus a security deposit is a significant amount of money. A landlord could feel fairly confident that he has protected his business as best he can from known risks. On the other hand a tenant after paying a significant amount of money upfront may feel that he doesn’t have to be too concerned about upkeep and move-out since they’re already paid for.

If the landlord only collects the first month rent and a security deposit, the landlord has the risk that the tenant will ride down his security deposit as the last month rent. The landlord will not have the security deposit to cover any property damage and will need to file a lawsuit against the tenant to recover monies advanced for property repairs.

There are other considerations. It can get complicated if the landlord does not have good attention to detail and utilize an adequate property management tracking system.

The last month’s rent is a prepayment of rent. If the tenant has a multi-year lease agreement or renews for several years, there must be a proper paper trail that documents the original agreement and payment. A landlord or tenant could misremember or even forget that the payment was collected.

If the present landlord arranges a sale of the property during the tenant’s residency, the landlord is responsible to provide the buyer with all the paperwork and funds accounting for the current tenants. If the current landlord does not provide complete documentation, the buyer and the tenant in residence will have a conflict at the tenant’s date of move out.

If the landlord collects the last month’s rent and the tenant renews his lease, but with a rent increase, the last month’s rent amount will not cover the rent amount in effect at the time of the tenant’s move-out. As example if the move-in rent was $1000 a month, the collection of the last month’s rent was $1000, but rent was increased to $1200 during the renewal year, at move-out, the landlord will probably be out the difference of $200. In most cases, the tenant will not be liable. Could the landlord have asked for an increase in the last month’s rent amount at the time of rent increase? In most states, unless adequately covered in the lease agreement, the landlord and tenant would have had to agree to the rent increase and increase of last month rent at the same time the rent increase went into effect rather than after.

If the landlord asks for first and last months’ rent and security deposit, many tenants will not have the money to move-in. A landlord can narrow the potential renter pool by having such requirements. A consideration also is whether the competition has such a requirement. If a potential tenant has a choice of similar rental properties, but one is more affordable, a landlord having the requirement may find it more difficult to fill his vacancy. There are also some potential tenants who will choose not apply for a vacancy even though they would have the financial resources to do so.

In some states a landlord may be required to pay interest on tenant funds held by the landlord as the last month’s rent. This requires additional paperwork and accounting on the landlord’s part.

Whether the landlord’s decision is to collect the last month’s rent or not, the landlord’s lease agreement should address how the security deposit cannot be used. As example a lease clause may state “Tenant may not without Landlord’s prior written consent apply the security deposit to the last month’s rent or to any other amounts due by this Agreement. The landlord should clearly communicate this term and condition to the tenant during orientation.

Despite the restriction of the lease clause, the landlord may receive a request from the tenant to use the tenant’s security deposit as the tenant’s last month’s rent. The landlord must decide whether he can afford to take a risk and allow the tenant to use the security deposit for the last month’s rent.

The risk that the landlord may incur is that there may be property damage when the tenant moves out and the landlord will not have any deposit to apply to repairs or cleaning. The landlord will have to absorb the costs or take legal action against the tenant to recover the costs.

The landlord could decide to grant the tenant’s request conditionally. If the tenant has been a good tenant and there is reason to believe the tenant will leave the rental unit clean and in good condition, the landlord may, after a quick property inspection, allow the tenant to use the security deposit for the last month’s rent.

Despite having options, most landlords choose not to collect a last month’s rent. To those landlords, a better business practice is to collect the maximum security deposit allowed by state statute. If the statute allows collecting more than one month’s rent as the security deposit, the landlord would be covered if the tenant skips paying the last month rent. The landlord could apply as necessary excess funds to cover any property damage or cleaning. The landlord would need to file legal action against the tenant if the damages exceeded available funds.

Employers use pre-employment screenings to quickly and effectively qualify an applicant to determine if the applicant can be advanced as a candidate for employment.

While application forms serve to collect basic applicant information, written and/or oral questions asked during pre-employment screenings provide additional information to determine if the applicant’s qualifications meet job requirements. With appropriate questioning, a pre-employment interview provides an objective basis from which to evaluate the skills, knowledge, and abilities of the applicant, work history, and experience.

The concern of some employers is how to develop questions for screening that meet permissible guidelines for business necessity.

Guidelines

There is reasonable assumption that all questions asked of the applicant during a pre-employment interview have a specific purpose and that answers to these questions will form the basis of a hiring decision. The employer should make only those inquiries necessary to determine the applicant’s eligibility for employment. All questions asked by an employer should be asked of all applicants.

The operating guideline behind any questions asked of an applicant on employment application forms or during pre-employment interviews is whether there is a legitimate business necessity for asking such questions. Employers should ask themselves:

Is the information being asked necessary to evaluate the applicant’s qualification to perform the job?

Is this question permissible on the basis of bona fide occupational qualification?

Would this question screen out a qualified candidate because of a disability before he/she can demonstrate ability to perform the job?

Will the answer to the question have a disparate effect in screening out members in a protected class?

The intent behind the questions and how the information is used by the employer are important criteria in determining whether the questions are appropriate for the initial screening process.

As a general rule, employers should not ask questions if they don’t intend to use the answers, but the overriding rule is that all questions asked should have business necessity.

Many employers develop their screening questions from the job description that details job functional tasks and responsibilities and the job specifications that describes the personal qualifications required for job performance.  The following information may be helpful in determining key requirements questions.

Requirements for job performance list minimum skills, knowledge, and abilities, also known as competencies, which the individual should already have or can be expected to have. A job specification may include requirements for the type of and minimum level of work experience and education, special skills such as foreign language or computer hardware/software expertise, industry training, certifications, or licensure.

Required skills as used in the work context may include physical abilities; technical proficiencies; vocational abilities; language and communication skills for reading, writing, and speaking; mathematical reasoning abilities; and self-management capability.

Job specification statements for competencies should clearly define the skills or abilities, the level of skill required, the range of experience required, if equivalencies may be considered as acceptable substitutes, and what context and purpose these requirements serve for work performance.

Since the screening is conducted pre-employment, the employer should determine the key requirements of the job and initially develop no more than six or seven questions relevant to the job duties and requirements. Too many questions may cause the applicant to lose interest or return a canned response. However it is in the employer’s interest to determine upfront if (1) the applicant is still interested in the job and available for work and (2) the salary range is acceptable to the applicant. If the answer to either question is no, there is no point to continuing the screening.

Discrimination

Discrimination can occur during pre-employment interviews as a result of direct, purposeful disparate treatment between applicants. This means that applicants are treated differently because of their race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, or age. For example, disparate treatment occurs when employers do not ask the same questions of all applicants.

Discrimination can also occur when employers engage in hiring practices that have the effect of excluding members of protected classes. While it may not have been the employer’s intent to discriminate, the employment practice has an adverse impact on members of a protected group with the effect of a disproportionally higher percentage of applicants being rejected from employment consideration.

Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ)

In certain narrow circumstances, employment practices that would constitute discrimination against individuals with protected characteristics of religion, national origin, sex, or age are allowed when reasonably necessary for the normal performance of duties in the normal operation of that particular business. This bona fide occupational qualification exception is an employer’s defense to acknowledged discrimination. It is the employer’s responsibility to prove that the qualification required for the job is necessary for job performance and that there is no reasonable alternative with a lesser impact on the protected classes.

Employment Laws

The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person’s race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. The most familiar federal laws are Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended (Title VII), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Title VII and ADEA specifically prohibit discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, and age. Pre-employment inquiries that express, directly or indirectly, any limitation or discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, or age unless based on a bona fide occupational qualification are therefore prohibited. Accordingly the employer must not ask any questions of the applicant whose answers would identify the applicant as having protected class characteristics.

Employers are prohibited under ADA from asking applicants during pre-employment interviews about a disability, including its nature or its severity. ADA requires the employer to isolate an employer’s consideration of an applicant’s non-medical qualifications from any consideration of the applicant’s medical condition.

Employers should also research their state and local laws regarding equal employment, employment discrimination, and employment screening restrictions and prohibitions. Some states have more restrictive requirements than the federal laws.

Preliminary Assessment of Candidates

The pre-employment screening is a preliminary assessment of candidate qualifications.  Screenings can be conducted by telephone interviews, face-to-face interviews, team interviews, or video interviews or a combination of screenings.

Telephone interviews are usually conducted as pre-employment screenings and are low cost alternatives to a face-to-face interview. However a phone interview can provide a great deal of information about the candidate in just a short period of time. It is an efficient tool to quickly pare down the applicant list into a shorter list of qualified candidates. Those candidates advance to the next step in the hiring process, possibly a personal interview.

Personal interviews are usually structured to allow the candidate to elaborate on his skills, knowledge, and abilities. The employer‘s goal is to discover as much as possible about the candidate’s work history and experience. The employer is also assessing what the candidate will bring to the organization and how the candidate will assimilate into the organization’s culture.

A bad hire is a costly hire. An employer will use all available screening tools to adequately assess that the applicant/candidate competencies meet job requirements and specifications.

Compensation for a resident manager may be dependent upon the manager’s duties and responsibilities, the number of hours worked, the work schedule (days and time), on-call availability, employee benefits, and comparable wages/salary paid for similar job positions in the local rental community. Compensation can be paid as a flat salary or by an hourly wage. Owners will need to comply with wage and hour laws, equal pay laws, and other employment related requirements for hours, wages, overtime, holidays and benefits.

The resident manager by definition and design is also a tenant at the property. While some owners may consider offering reduced rent in exchange for manager services, there is consensus that this arrangement is not usually in the best interest of the business or the employee. It is difficult to fully and fairly exchange hours worked for rent allowance and there can be problems with wage and hour laws, possible overtime hours violations, rent control issues in some areas, and issues associated with termination of employment. Owners should ensure all employment obligations are met regarding hours worked and compensation provided.

In some states there are regulations regarding maximum rent charges for a manager who is required to live on-site as a condition of employment. You will need to research your state’s laws regarding any such regulations.

You should make it clear to your new manager that the employment is an at-will agreement. You could legally fire the manager at any given time with or without reason as long as you do not terminate his employment for an illegal reason. Your manager also could exercise his right to quit at any time for any reason with or without notice.

Your obligations as an employer remain the same whether you decide to compensate the resident manager with a reduced rent arrangement or you pay your manager an agreed upon salary/wage and the manager pays full rent for his unit.

Once you and the resident manager have agreed upon terms and conditions of his employment it is a better practice to record all terms and conditions of the work arrangement in a written employment agreement. While an oral agreement between you and the manager regarding his employment is usually legal and binding upon both parties, a written document will help to protect against possible future disputes or claims of unfair treatment.

Remember too that the manager is also your tenant. While the employment agreement covers the employment relationship, you will need a rental agreement with your resident manager for tenancy. The resident manager should be screened to your written tenant screening standards. A month-to-month rental agreement should be drawn for the rental terms and conditions. You or the manager/tenant may terminate the rental agreement as per the required written notice per state statute. The employment agreement and the month-to-month rental agreement serve two distinct business functions and should not be combined into one document, although depending on terms of employment, it is sometimes important to cross-reference between the employment and rental documents.

Once the decision to employ a resident manager is made, your next consideration is to define the manager’s duties and responsibilities. By writing a detailed job description, you have a better idea of the skills and knowledge required for the job, how to determine the expected work schedule, and what to offer in compensation.

For many owners, the job duties and responsibilities for the resident manager are to provide customer service (such as inquiries, showings, and maintenance) and management reports. Other owners have the resident manager responsible for many rental duties such as applications, tenant screenings, tenant selection, lease execution, rents, repairs and maintenance.

A list of resident manager duties may include the following:

• Answering phone inquiries about vacancies
• Keeping business office hours per set schedule
• Showing vacant units
• Accepting applications, fees, deposits
• Screening and selecting tenants
• Conducting lease signing and new tenant orientation
• Conducting move-in and move-out inspections; completing inspection checklists
• Collecting rents and late charges
• Maintaining rent records
• Handling routine banking deposits
• Serving notices
• Cleaning vacant units
• Handling tenant maintenance requests; maintaining a service request log
• Scheduling contracted maintenance and repair services
• Providing certain maintenance work for which qualified
• Preparing business reports

The size of the property, the extent of the job duties, and the type of responsibilities may determine whether the manager’s job is a full-time position or a part-time position. You will need to determine the number of hours that the manager is expected to be on the property (e.g., office hours or maintenance work) and the scheduled hours of availability for contact by tenants.