Landlords can be sued for discrimination despite their best efforts in fair housing compliance policies and practices. Discrimination lawsuits have increased over the past few years causing landlords to spend significant time and money to defend themselves against claims of discrimination. While some lawsuits may prove to have no merit, (e.g., a nuisance lawsuit) nevertheless […]

An insurance product that helps compensate a landlord for loss of income in the event that a rental property become uninhabitable due to a covered loss – e.g., storm damage or fire damage – is available from many business insurance companies. This type of coverage may also be called a Loss of Income Policy, Rent […]

Late and missed rents are often cited by landlords as being the biggest problems with new tenants. To evaluate an applicant’s potential financial risk to the landlord, i.e., rent defaults, landlords conduct tenant background screenings. Based upon a greater perceived business risk, a landlord may offer conditional acceptance to an applicant by requiring the applicant […]

What does your lease agreement say? Once the lease agreement is signed, you and the tenants have a binding legal contract. If the lease agreement did include a contingency regarding the sale of their house, your options would be limited to the terms of that contingency. If not, your lease agreement terms and conditions govern […]

Landlords should not make rental decisions based on gut feelings. Decisions should be made based on the results of a number of objective screening procedures as applicable per federal, state, or local laws. Typical tenant screenings include identity verification, employment history, income verification, previous rental housing history, references, and background screenings for credit, criminal, and […]

There are several issues here that require clarification before determining how to handle your situation. A primary issue is that, although you call the person a tenant, you do not explicitly state that the lease has been fully executed. If you and the person executed a written lease agreement, you can hold her to the […]

Deposits and fees are required by a landlord to protect his business against possible financial losses from tenant unpaid rents and property damages beyond normal wear and tear. The type, use, and amount of rental deposits and fees are customarily regulated by state landlord-tenant statutes. Additionally, local ordinances, area rental market conditions, property location and […]

Many states require a move-in checklist to be completed when possession of the rental unit is given to the new tenant. The checklist is a written statement of the condition of the rental unit at the time of move-in. The completed checklist documents any existing damage to the unit and/or an inventory of landlord supplied […]

The importance of regularly scheduled inspections can be emphasized by clear language in the terms and conditions of the lease agreement. The lease agreement should specify the types of inspections, schedules, and notifications that are required for tenant health and safety issues and property maintenance and repair. Separate sections in the lease agreement for maintenance […]

An annual safety and maintenance inspection is generally considered an acceptable standard. Semi-annual inspections may have more value to help reduce risk and contain costs by identifying a problem early on. The longer interval between inspections creates greater potential for property damage and loss, including increased exposure to claims of liability. Depending upon the type […]