Q: One unit in our fourplex has a bedbug problem. The
landlord hired an exterminator, who found a bug in two other
units, so he recommends treating the entire building. We're
going to have to take time off from work to prepare our
apartment,...
Q: I work at home and regularly receive UPS deliveries of
material. Last week, the deliveryman slipped on the front
stairs, hurting himself. Those stairs have been in bad shape
for years, and I've asked for repairs, but to no avail. I
imagine that...
Q: We're looking for a place to rent in a tight rental
market, and have filled out several rental applications.
Each of them asks for a credit-check fee, from $25 to $35,
which covers the cost to order a credit report.
We have our...
Q: We rent a single-family home from an individual who
collected two months' rent -- $9,000 -- as a deposit. We've
gotten several letters for her from a bank, and last week a
representative from the bank arrived with some legal papers
for the...
Q: The rental market in my city is tight, and it's common
for applicants to offer many months' prepaid rent as an
incentive for landlords to rent to them. I accepted six
months' rent from a couple who signed a year's lease, then
left...
Q: One of my tenants has asked for permission to keep a dog
as a "companion animal." He gave me a letter from his
doctor, but it's so poorly written that I suspect it's fake,
even though it's on a letterhead. This guy...
Q: I manage an apartment complex, where we have many
families with children. We have large parking lots where
kids often ride their bikes. This is an obvious safety
hazard, so I've posted a sign saying "Children may not ride
bikes in the parking...
Q: My tenants have asked for permission to place a large,
conventional religious symbol on their front door. They'd
need to screw it into the wood. My leases prohibit
alterations without my consent, and I don't want the door
disfigured like this. But they...
Q: We rent a single-family house to tenants who have been
there for several years. We gave them permission to build a
new backyard fence and do some landscaping; they agreed to
pay for it. The work was done and finished a month...
Q: I have come up with a way to motivate people to pay their
rent on time, and I'm wondering if it's legal. In addition
to my late fee, I'd like to say that tenants may not use the
laundry facilities or the...
Q: I rent a three-bedroom house to my tenants, a couple. A
while ago, they asked if they could sublet two of the
bedrooms, and assured me that they would carefully choose
the tenants. The subtenants are fine -- but I've just
learned that...
Q: I'm feeling increasingly uncomfortable about the dynamics
I'm witnessing at my apartment community. The manager is
constantly hitting on my neighbor in public settings (like
the pool), even to the point of insisting that she accept
his "back rubs." She hates it and...
Q: When I screen potential tenants, I talk to their current
landlord and their employer, ask for references, and order a
credit report. Some of the landlords in town are also
regularly looking on the Internet, to see if the applicant
blogs, has a...
Q: Last September, I was unable to pay my rent ($1,000 per
month), and incurred a late fee of $100. I paid all of
October's rent, and every month's rent from that time
onward, but I wasn't able to pay September's rent until...
Q: When our tenants moved out, we inspected their apartment
for damage. We discovered that all of the draperies and
curtains, as well as the rug, smell strongly of cooking
spices (I think it's curry). These tenants must not have
used the kitchen fan...
Q: My husband and I are going to rent out my parents' home,
which I have inherited. How can we best protect our personal
assets from lawsuits or other claims that might arise during
our landlording business? --Fred and Delia J.
A: The best...
Q: My tenants, John and Alice, an unmarried couple, have
just informed me that they are breaking their lease. John
joined the military and has been transferred to Texas, and
Alice intends to go with him. I know that the law requires
me to...
Q: While my son and his girlfriend were visiting us over the
holidays, a water main in their apartment burst and flooded
their apartment. All of their possessions -- clothes,
furniture, everything -- were ruined by the water or the
resulting mold. Is the...
Feb 25, 2010 | <span class="">Janet Portman</span> | Real Estate
Q: I teach piano lessons in my rented duplex. When I told my
landlord about it, he said OK, but insisted that the
presence of my students would increase his exposure to
lawsuits. So now he's asking me to pay an additional
deposit. Can...
A consumer reporting agency that failed to properly screen
prospective customers and, as a result, sold at least 318
credit reports to identity thieves, has agreed to settle
Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated federal
law. Under the settlement, the company and its...
Q: I have a tenant whose one-year lease expired last spring.
I gave him a new, yearlong lease then, but he never signed
it. When I asked him for it, he said he misplaced it. He did
pay the new, increased rent, and...
Q: Our daughter found a notice of default on her front door
last week, telling her that foreclosure was imminent. She
called the owner, who straightened things out with the bank,
but we're really worried that our daughter will eventually
be displaced by a...
Q: I own and live in a fourplex apartment building, renting
out the other three units. I want my property to participate
in our city's recycling programs, and have clauses in my
leases that obligate tenants to use the recycling containers
(including a container...
Q: We're facing a situation that's pretty unbelievable. My
mother-in-law passed away in her apartment on the day rent
was due. My wife found her that day, and notified management
immediately. We cleaned out the apartment within a few days,
and were shocked to...
Q: I rent a single-family home. A beehive under the eaves
has grown quite large and active, and it makes me nervous
every time I pass by. Who is responsible for removing it: me
or the owner? --Cynthia C.
A: Your question presents two...
Q: My landlord and I are having a dispute over the
timeliness of my rent payment several months ago. I gave it
to the manager on time; the manager claims he got it a day
later, and charged the fee. I refused to...
Q: Our family has just received a termination notice from
the landlord, for bogus reasons. He claims that we're
committing criminal acts on the property because my son was
in a fight with a neighboring boy. It's true that there was
a fight, but...
Q: The question you recently answered about a long-term
tenant surviving the foreclosure of his home (because his
lease predated the mortgage) was welcome reading to us,
because that is our situation, too. Our landlord hasn't been
foreclosed on yet, but it's imminent. Still...
Q: Six months into my tenant's one-year lease, which
specified "no pets," she got a dog. She assured me it was
housebroken, so I said she could keep it. Then I discovered
that the dog had urinated all over the carpet. I had...
Q: I live in a large apartment complex near my university.
Management is very poor here: they don't respond to repair
requests; they close the laundry and pool facilities
regularly; and they don't keep the common areas clean. When
the tenants have bad experiences,...
Q: We listed our rental on craigslist, which listed key
terms, including a provision that the pet and cleaning
deposits were nonrefundable. A couple contacted us and
visited the rental, and we agreed orally, (and) with a
handshake, to lease to them. It was...
Q: My landlord, who's been a great guy, told me that he
thinks he's probably going to lose the property to
foreclosure. My lease runs out in a couple of months, and I
was hoping to stay here for at least another year....
Q: I'm interested in a rental that describes the rent in an
odd way: First, the advertisement lists the rent, then it
adds "pet rent." Is this legal? --Rigoberto R.
A: It's perfectly OK for an ad to specify that if a tenant
has...
Q: While on a visit, my tenant's father slipped when getting
out of the bathtub. He fell back against the faucet,
injuring his back, though fortunately not badly. The tub,
however, which is a one-piece fiberglass shower/tub unit, is
ruined. Who is responsible for...
Q: We hired a management company to find tenants and collect
rent at our rental in a nearby town. Over the past two years
we've had four sets of tenants; one broke the lease and we
had to file evictions on two of...
*Introduction*
Ken Roth is a second-generation landlord, a real estate
attorney and a former leasing agent. He's been letting
properties and dealing with the headaches that inevitably
result for over 20 years. Test your knowledge of
landlord-tenant relations with the SLAT-- The Successful
Landlord Aptitude Test,...
Q: My tenant of several months moved out, breaking his
year's lease with seven months left on it. The lease has a
termination-fee clause in which he agreed to pay 1 1/2
month's rent if he moves out early. I took that money...
Q: One of my tenants would like to get out of his yearlong
lease, which has eight months left. I understand that he
remains liable for the whole rent until I re-rent the unit,
but he's approached me with a different proposition. He
wants...
Q: During an interview with a potential landlord, we were
asked some odd questions that, on reflection, seemed
designed to find out if we are religious. She asked me where
we got married (not just the city, but the site), and how we
liked...
Q: My apartment complex specifies "no pets." A tenant has
just asked for permission to keep a monkey -- no, she didn't
even ask, she announced -- that the monkey would be living
with her. She claims she needs it as a service...
Q: The property I'm renting was lost in foreclosure in April
2009. The landlord told me he just wasn't able to keep up
with the payments, but it sure seems to me that he's been
living pretty well recently -- he's got a...
Q: I'm in a bit of a bind. I own a unique, lovely duplex (we
live upstairs) that I easily rented in our town of few
rentals and high demand. I signed a one-year lease with the
new tenants, then learned that my...
Q: I'm looking to rent at an apartment complex that imposes
some oddball fees when tenants move in. In addition to the
security deposit, they impose a one-time "initiation fee"
(for showing a new tenant around, I guess), a "key fee," and
a "lock...
Q: I have attempted, and failed, to evict a problem tenant.
This person constantly demanded repairs, complained about
our policies, and bad-mouthed management to other tenants.
Finally, he did something that was prohibited in the lease
-- he parked in another person's parking place...
Q: My sister has lived in a rent-controlled apartment for 16
years. Over the past month there has been evidence that
someone has been entering her apartment. Little things are
disturbed, such as a picture on the floor that's moved to
the computer and...
Q: When my tenants moved out leaving the place a mess, I
hired a handyman to do some cleaning and repairs. While
doing the work, he fell through the floor, which had become
spongy with rot. Apparently, the pipes had been leaking for
some...
Q: I'm the owner of an apartment complex near a large
hospital. The hospital regularly brings in traveling nurses,
who stay for three months. The nurses work for an agency,
and the agency provides housing for each nurse by renting an
apartment from me....
Q: I understand that I will have to pay a late fee if I pay
my rent late. But what about legal fees? I guess my landlord
got his lawyer involved in my pay-or-quit notice, because
the lawyer sent the notice, but then...
Delinquent Tenant habits: what they do
Owning or managing a rental property can be a full time job
and a full time headache if your landlord business does not
have a fraud prevention program, particularly if you get a
tenant that has previously played...
Tenant screening could cost you rental- by Claes Bell
(source)
*Preface to article: *Read the article and the comments
below by Marv Steier
The process of finding the perfect rental house or apartment
can range from hectic to nearly impossible. But it could be
worse: Picture...
Tough economic times affect every consumer that includes
tenants and it has become quite evident recently with the
global financial meltdown that many consumers/tenants have
overspent and incurred more debt than they are able to
handle financially.
So when consumers default on their financial obligation...
*Employer Willing to Buy Out Tenant’s Lease*
by Robert Griswold, Inman News
*Q*: I have a tenant who recently signed a two-year lease
for my rental home. She just contacted me indicating that
she has been approached by her employer about transferring
to another city...
If you're in the rental housing business for long, you'll
hear about six-figure or larger legal awards against rental
property owners for violating fair-housing laws. Problems
often arise when investment property owners are unaware that
their policies or practices are discriminatory. Families,
children, and folks...
On June 1st/2008 new Equifax Policy stipulates that all End
Users (Landlords) must have a site inspection of their
Office whether home based or not by a Certified Inspector,
(generally a Realtor in your area) to determine if the
Office, meets the criteria that...
It should be noted that this scam is running all over North
America and likely Europe and other parts of the world as
most Nigerian scams do. People need to be aware of these
types of scams.
When you read the email from the...
By Motley Fool Staff June 5, 2007
So you want to be a landlord? You're not alone.
You could be attracted by the idea of having money just roll
in from tenants every month. We spoke with a bunch of people
who have owned...
By Janet Portman, managing editor, Nolo
*Know the laws in your state before you rent out space*.
Being a successful landlord requires lots of practical
know-how, business moxie, and familiarity with the market.
Until about 30 years ago, the law didn’t have much to...
*Landlords… *now have the opportunity to report tenant pay
habits[tenant-pay-habits.php] on a *monthly basis*; this
will have a positive impact on reducing rental income loss
and reducing the problem of late rent payments.
The ability to *report tenant pay habits on a monthly basis*
benefits...
TVS Tenant Verification Service Inc. one of the premier
tenant screening services in the Industry has developed a
program that allows landlords to report tenant pay habits on
a monthly basis.
This is important for a number of reasons:
Major Credit Bureaus do...
