How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted companies and their employment practices? Some major employers have furloughed their workforce while other major employers have urgent need to hire additional workers to meet demand for essential goods and services during the pandemic. Many small business employers are not expected to recover from loss of business and some […]

Landlords can take strong measures to help fight community spread of the coronavirus. By changing rental practices in response to emerging pandemic issues in local areas and in compliance with federal state and local regulations for mitigation of the virus, landlords can help educate, inform and protect their tenant populations during this declared emergency. Landlords […]

Generally speaking, trying to market an occupied rental unit is usually problematic at best. There can be potential problems in scheduling work for property improvements or repairs, real estate agent showings, property inspections, or other activities related to listing a property for sale. Despite required advance notification to the tenants, access to the property is […]

Yes, the Seattle City Council has passed legislation that prohibits certain evictions during the period December 1 to March 1. The legislation’s purpose is to prevent evictions during the winter months of those tenants who are behind in their rent and may become homeless if an eviction is carried out. The law applies only to […]

A landlord’s lease is a legal contract binding landlord and tenant(s) to mutually agreed upon rental terms and conditions for a specific period of time as witnessed by signatures of all parties named on the lease. The lease must be compliant to federal, state, city and county regulations and requirements. The lease transfers possession, use […]

Many states do regulate the issues of late fees and/or grace periods. As with most landlord-tenant issues, you would need to conduct research for the state and local regulations for your rental property. The regulations by statute can limit the amount a landlord can charge for late payment of rent either as a specific dollar […]

Security deposit insurance is an alternative option to a traditional security deposit required by a landlord as part of his rental terms and conditions. A traditional security deposit is typically paid in cash or cash equivalent at the tenant’s move-in and held by the landlord for the term of the lease. If the rental unit […]

The federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) prohibits discrimination in housing and housing related transactions based on the seven protected classes of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or familial status. As of this writing, source of income is not a protected class under the FHA but some states and many city and county jurisdictions […]

Rental policies and practices, rules and standards, and landlord expectations of renter conduct should be clearly detailed in the lease agreement and clearly communicated to potential tenants wishing to apply for tenancy as co-tenants. Co-tenant applicants must understand the responsibilities and obligations they will have as co-tenants named in the lease agreement and by their […]

Most experienced landlords recommend asking the applicant to provide rental history for the past three years. Usually that timeframe will provide one or two prior landlord references in addition to the most recent landlord reference. Reference checking is a simple step but some landlords skip over this critical screening, thinking it unnecessary if the credit […]