A critical risk management policy and practice for housing providers is the duty to stay current with applicable laws governing landlord-tenant matters. Housing providers must navigate a complex system of federal, state, and local law that regulate some, but not all, aspects of the tenant screening and selection process to determine legal compliances applicable to […]

Choosing the right asking rent is a key business decision. Setting the asking rent is a decision that can affect cash flow, property operations, tenant satisfaction, tenant retention, and property valuation which can affect a landlord’s ability to sell or refinance the property. The challenge in setting asking rents is determining a rent range favorable […]

A landlord must establish tenant screening criteria before accepting rental applications. Once criteria are set, all applicants must be evaluated to the same criteria. The end goal of tenant screening is to install a quality tenant in a legally compliant process. When a landlord develops his screening criteria he does so with the quality tenant […]

Well developed, written tenant screening criteria, legally compliant, consistently used, can reduce fair housing discrimination complaints. Creating tenant screening criteria customized for business protections requires time and effort to review business requirements, legal compliances, and market conditions. As business circumstances, legislative actions, and rental markets change, so should tenant screening criteria. A landlord must keep […]

To successfully manage rental property, a landlord must understand the rights, responsibilities, and remedies of landlord and tenant as set out in state landlord-tenant statutes, local ordinances, and federal laws. From due diligence research the landlord creates his rental policies and develops his lease agreement and rental practices in accordance with sound business principles and […]

Landlords utilize a variety of risk assessment tools and predictive models to help identify potential liabilities and possible threats to business operations. One of the biggest concerns for a landlord is whether a potential tenant could be relied on to pay full and timely rent. Accordingly, to reduce problems associated with rent defaults, a landlord […]

Both landlord and tenant are bound to the contract terms of the lease agreement that includes the tenant obligation to pay tent and the landlord obligation to provide habitable premises and ensure the tenant’s right to quiet enjoyment of the premises. Early termination of the lease agreement breaks the contract terms and conditions of the […]

Yes, there has been a recent update to the FHA Design and Construction requirements. HUD has adopted 5 new safe harbors, the first update of safe harbors since 2005. Effective March 8, 2021 the following standards are considered safe harbors under the FHA in addition to the 10 currently existing safe harbors: 2009 edition of […]

Fair housing compliance requires accurate, timely information communicated in a non-discriminatory manner. Questions about vacancies, rental policies, property features, amenities, and services can come from various sources, such as walk-ins, telephone, text, email, social media, and advertising. Your best practice to avoid claims of fair housing violations is make sure all staff members  receive proper […]

In 2012 and as later amended in 2016, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued the Equal Access Rule that affirmatively stated that housing assisted or insured by HUD must be made available without regard to actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status. The Rule prohibits inquiries regarding sexual orientation […]