Whether you have one unit or one hundred, this book will give you the legal and practical information you need to comply with your state's laws, find and keep good tenants, and avoid legal trouble.
A Nolo bestseller, Every Landlord's Legal Guide shows you how to:
screen and choose prospective tenants
write a legal rental agreement or lease
hire a property manager
deal with problem tenants
understand repair, maintenance and security responsibilities
avoid lawsuits
comply with laws regarding security deposits, privacy, discrimination, senior housing, habitability and much more
The completely revised 7th edition provides updated state-by-state legal charts on everything from security deposit rules to termination for nonpayment of rent. All forms provided as tear-outs and on CD-ROM.
The Adobe Reader format of this title is not suitable for use on the Pocket PC or Palm OS versions of Adobe Reader.
Choosing tenants is the most important decision any landlord makes, and to do it well you need a reliable system. Follow the steps in this chapter to maximize your chances of selecting tenants who will pay their rent on time, keep their units in good condition, and not cause you any legal or practical problems later.
Before you advertise your property for rent, make a number of basic decisions -- including how much rent to charge, whether to offer a fixed-term lease or a month-to-month tenancy, how many tenants can occupy each rental unit, how big a security deposit to require, and whether you'll allow pets. Making these important decisions should dovetail with writing your lease or rental agreement. (See Chapter 2.)
Avoiding Fair Housing Complaints and Lawsuits
Federal and state antidiscrimination laws limit what you can say and do in the tenant selection process. Because the topic of discrimination is so important we devote a whole chapter to it later in the book (Chapter 5), including legal reasons for refusing to rent to a tenant and how to avoid discrimination in your tenant selection process. You should read Chapter 5 before you run an ad or interview prospective tenants. For now, keep in mind four important points:
1. You are legally free to choose among prospective tenants as long as your decisions are based on legitimate business criteria. You are entitled to reject applicants with bad credit histories, income that you reasonably regard as insufficient to pay the rent, or past behavior -- such as property damage or consistent late rent payments -- that makes someone a bad risk. A valid occupancy limit that is clearly tied to health and safety or legitimate business needs can also be a legal basis for refusing tenants. It goes without saying that you may legally refuse to rent to someone who can't come up with the security deposit or meet some other condition of the tenancy.
2. Fair housing laws specify clearly illegal reasons to refuse to rent to a tenant. Federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender, age, familial status, or physical or mental disability (including recovering alcoholics and people with a past drug addiction). Many states and cities also prohibit discrimination based on marital status or sexual orientation.
3. Anybody who deals with prospective tenants must follow fair housing laws. This includes owners, landlords, managers, and real estate agents, and all of their employees. As the property owner, you may be held legally responsible for your employees' discriminatory statements or conduct, including sexual harassment. (Chapter 6, Section E explains how to protect yourself from your employee's illegal acts.)
4. Consistency is crucial when dealing with prospective tenants. If you don't treat all tenants more or less equally -- for example, if you arbitrarily set tougher standards for renting to a member of a racial minority -- you are violating federal laws and opening yourself up to lawsuits.
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
1. Screening Tenants: Your Most Important Decision
2. Preparing Leases and Rental Agreements
3. Basic Rent Rules
4. Security Deposits
5. Discrimination
6. Property Managers
7. Getting the Tenant Moved In
8. Co-Tenants, Sublets and Assignments
9. Landlord's Duty to Repair and Maintain the Premises
10. Landlord's Liability for Dangerous Conditions
11. Landlord's Liability for Environmental Health Hazards
12. Landlord's Liability for Criminal Acts and Activities
13. Landlord's Right of Entry and Tenants' Privacy
14. Ending a Tenancy
15. Returning Security Deposits and Other Move-Out Issues
16. Problems With Tenants: How to Resolve Disputes Without a Lawyer
17. Terminations and Evictions
18. Lawyers and Legal Research
Appendix I: State Landlord-Tenant Law Charts
Appendix II: How to Use the CD-ROM
Appendix III: Tear-Out Forms
Index
Reviews
The Real Estate Professional...
If there is one item a landlord needs it's a reliable legal guide.... This book provides as comprehensive and authoritative a basic reference as you are going to find. It's big, profusely illustrated, and deals in real life problems.
Jacksonville Florida Times...
Diamonds may be a girl's best friend, but when it comes to handling tenants no landlord should be without a copy of Every Landlord's Legal Guide...
Doreen Cason
About the Author
Marcia Stewart brings her background in writing and editing on consumer issues to her job as a legal editor at Nolo Press. She is an expert on landlord-tenant law, buying and selling houses, and other issues of interest to consumers. She is the co-author of Every Landlord's Legal Guide, Leases and Rental Agreements and Renters' Rights, and the editor of Nolo's LeaseWriter software for landords. Marcia received a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of California at Berkeley and has written and edited a wide variety of consumer publications for government agencies and private businesses.
