The last thing any landlord wants is legal problems between themselves, their tenants, or the local housing authorities. Below, we’ll offer some simple tips for managing your property to help avoid legal issues and other future problems with renters and housing regulations.
Screen Tenants Thoroughly
When selecting tenants for your property, you’ll want to conduct thorough background checks and credit history reviews. You’ll also want to get references from previous landlords if you can. If you find any red flags in any of these checks, you should be cautious about selecting the tenants.
Of course, the Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate against tenants or prospective tenants due to their:
- Sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation)
- Race
- Religion
- Disability
- Familial status
- National origin
Keep your selective process to material considerations, and you’ll be more likely to find congenial tenants who won’t cause problems.
Scrutinize Lease Agreements With Legal Experts
The lease agreement is the holy text for the landlord-tenant relationship. It outlines all the rules and regulations regarding the most important questions between renters and landlords, including rent payment, care of property, termination, and late payment penalties.
Before drafting, signing, and having the tenant sign a lease agreement, you’ll want to ensure everything is legal and the agreement doesn’t expose you to potential issues. Have a legal expert in housing laws and regulations review the basic agreement for you as confirmation of its legality and to catch anything that might cause problems in the future.
Understand Security Deposit Handling Regulations
Another tip for managing your property and avoiding legal issues is to familiarize yourself with the regulations and laws regarding the handling of the security deposit. The security deposit is a critical aspect of the landlord-renter relationship, as it’s a large sum of money that ensures the care of the rented property and gives landlords leverage if tenants damage the property in some way.
Naturally, the security deposit can also be the origin of many disagreements between landlords and tenants, especially when leaving the property. General legal requirements regarding the holding and handling of security deposits and local regulations apply. So property managers must be intimately familiar with all the laws and fine print to avoid legal issues.
Stay on Top of Maintenance
The care and maintenance of the property is one of the most common points of legal issues between property managers, tenants, and local officials. If a landlord is derelict in their responsibilities to care for the property, the tenants and local housing officials can sue them for damages and risk of harm.
Property managers can’t overlook any aspect of property maintenance, from simple repairs to even things like fire escape paint and scrape maintenance. Creating a schedule for regular inspections and maintenance is a simple but effective way to stay ahead of maintenance issues.
We hope our guide helps you avoid common legal issues that often plague property managers with paperwork, fines, and red tape. Legal scrutiny and documentation are always critical considerations for property owners, from screening tenants to lease agreements and property maintenance.
