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Top Ten Legal Mistakes That Can Sink Your Landlord Business
9. Keeping Security Deposits When Tenants Break a Lease
When tenants break a lease and leave early, landlords often keep the entire deposit, reasoning that the tenant's bad behavior justifies doing so, and that they'll ultimately need it anyway to cover rent. In many states, this is illegal -- you must take reasonably prompt steps to re-rent, and credit any new rent toward the tenant's obligation for the rest of the lease. Keeping a two months' rent deposit and re-renting within a month is not legal.
10. Failing to Return Security Deposits According to Law
This list wouldn't be complete without another reference to security deposits. Not only are they used improperly, they're often not returned according to state law, either. Many states have deadlines by which landlords must itemize their use of the deposit and return any balance. It's not uncommon for tenants to wait many weeks or months for this accounting. In some states, the deliberate or "bad faith" retention of the deposit will result in harsh penalties against the landlord, such as an order that the landlord pay two or three times the deposit to the tenant.
FAQs
- Can I get in legal trouble by rejecting a prospective tenant?
- Does the URLTA favor tenants over landlords?
- What is the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act?
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- Are there tenants' rights not covered in URLTA?
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