The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently issued new guidance (FHEO-2020-01, dated January 28, 2020, sometimes referred to as the “Assistance Animal Notice”) clarifying how housing providers can comply with the Fair Housing Act (FHA) when assessing a person’s request to have an animal in housing to provide assistance because of a […]

As more local and state governments enact new laws to prohibit employers from requesting salary history information from job applicants, many employers have had to revise their hiring policies and practices to bring them into legal compliances. Until recently, requesting an applicant’s salary history was a standard practice for many employers in their hiring process. […]

Whether for a single rental property, multi-family properties, or multiple properties, landlords need to keep a variety of records for all applicants, current tenants, and past tenants. Tenant Records Maintaining complete, detailed, and current tenant records is essential to document the individual’s tenancy, the landlord’s compliance with legal obligations, and important to prove a defense […]

In general a liquidated damages provision in a contract is used to specify a predetermined amount of money that must be paid as damages when one party to the contract breaches the contract (fails to perform to contract terms and conditions). Boiler-plate language to that effect can be found in generic, pre-printed lease forms provided […]

States that are considered landlord-friendly are those states that have laws, rules, and regulations that can be more favorable for the landlord’s business. For rental housing, state landlord-tenant laws regulate or restrict certain policies and practices in property management operations. As examples, a landlord-friendly state may have no limit on security deposits, allow a longer […]

When a good tenant declines to renew his lease, should a landlord ask why? Possibly a more important question for the landlord is to ask is what could have been done to retain the tenant. The good tenant who is leaving was a tenant qualified to rental standards, wanted to be a tenant, and fulfilled […]

Picking an applicant who appears to be the best applicant can be a subjective judgment call based upon a landlord’s personal preference for one applicant over other qualified applicants.  Such a practice violates fair housing anti-discrimination protections.  The best practice has always been for a landlord to offer tenancy to the first qualified applicant. Something […]

A reasonable occupancy standard is commonly based on guidance from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that as a general rule, an occupancy policy of two persons in a bedroom is reasonable under the Fair Housing Act. This is based on several factors such as the size of bedrooms, the size of the […]

The beginning of a new year is traditionally the time to evaluate current rental policies and practices for business and legal compliances. This year the analysis and evaluation process may be a business necessity. New landlord tenant legislation is scheduled to become effective this year in several states and many cities. Some of the new […]

The tenant screenings a landlord conducts are important risk assessment tools for business profitability and asset protection. Screening requirements are regulated by legal compliances and business necessity. Tenant screenings relevant to business standards provide key data to evaluate an applicant for potential business risk. With recently passed legislature by some states and local governments, there […]