Landlord Resource Guide

How Do You Help Your Tenant Get Set Up? Should You Do a Walkthrough of the Rental Unit With Your New Tenant? Should You Prepare a Welcome Letter for Your New Tenant? Is a Move-in Inspection Required? What Can You Do If a Tenant Cannot Immediately Move In to Your Rental? What Can You Do in the Case of Shared Utility Meters? How Do You Effectively Evaluate the Rental Market and Your Target Tenant? What Qualities Should You Look for in a Property? What Are Some Red Flags About a Property? What Principles Should You Follow During Property Screening? Where Should Your Rental Property Be Located? What Is a Lease Agreement? What Are the Tenant’s Basic Rights That Cannot Be Restricted? Are You Legally Required to Act in Good Faith? How Should You Determine the Rent Price? Can You Lease Your Property and Live There at the Same Time? Can You Sign a Lease With More Than One Person? Can You Enter Your Rental in Case of an Emergency? What Is a Rental Agreement? What Is the Difference between a Lease and a Rental Agreement? What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Leases and Rental Agreements? Is a Verbal Rental Agreement Legally Binding? Why Is It Better to Have a Written Rental Agreement? How Do You Negotiate Lease Terms with Non-English Speaking Tenants? What Terms Are Usually Included in a Rental Agreement or Lease? Can You Require Your Tenant to Pay Rent in a Specific Form? What Are Some General Ways to End a Tenancy Agreement? What Should You Write in the Move-Out Letter? How Do You End a Month-to-Month Rental Agreement? What Are the Key Principles for Ending Lease Agreements? Can a Tenant Move Out Due to Bad Conditions of the Premises? Can You Ask Tenants to Move Out in Case of Property Repair? What Is the Procedure for Moving Out? How Do You Avoid Major Move-Out Pitfalls? How Do You Avoid Overflowing Trash Receptacles when a Tenant Moves Out? Should You Prepare a Move-Out Letter? How Can You Prepare to Show Your Rental Property? How Can You Improve Your Property's Exterior? How Can You Improve Your Property's Interior? How Do Home Renovation Loans Work? When Should You Consider a Home Renovation Loan? What Alternatives Do You Have Other Than a Home Renovation Loan? How Do You Make the Most Out of Landlord Tax Deductions? What Are Capital Expenses for Deduction Purposes? How Do You Deduct Mortgage and Other Loan Interests? How Do You Deduct Property Tax Payments? How Do You Deduct Home Office Expenses? What Tax Deductions Are Available for Airbnb Hosts? How Do Income Tax Deductions Work for Tenants? Is It Possible to Owe No Tax for a Particular Period? What Rental Expenses Can You Deduct as a Landlord? What Are Start-Up Expenses for Deduction Purposes? What Are Specific Examples of Start-Up Expenses Below $5,000? How Do You Deduct Start-Up Expenses Over $5,000? What Are Rental Operating Expenses Deductions? What Are Specific Examples for Deducting Operating Expenses? What Are Your Key Liabilities as a Landlord? Are You Required to Provide Your Tenant With Quiet Enjoyment During the Lease? Are You Responsible for the Tenant’s Injuries? For What Kind of Tenant Injuries Are You Liable? How Can You Protect Yourself From Injury-Related Liabilities? Should You or Your Authorized Agents Disclose Your Personal Information? Do You Need to Disclose a Previous Death on the Property? Are You Prepared for Property Investment? What Qualities Do You Need to Succeed as a Landlord? What Are the Advantages of Owning a Rental Property? What Are the Drawbacks of Owning a Rental Property? Are You Aware of Your General Responsibilities as a Landlord? What Are the Basics of Operating a Household Rental Business? How Do You Successfully Market Your Rental Property? Why It Is Important to Find a Good Tenant? What Qualities Make a Good Tenant? What Are the Warning Signs of a Future Bad Tenant? Does the Tenancy Agreement Include Anyone Besides the Tenant? Are There Any Limitations on the Number of Occupants? Do You Have the Right to Be Informed of New Occupants Moving in? Are Occupants Responsible for Paying Rent? What Is a Rental Application Form? Should You Use a Rental Application Form in the Tenant Screening Process? What Information Can You Find in an Applicant’s Credit Report? Where Can You Get an Applicant’s Credit Report? What Should You Look for in an Applicant’s Credit Report? Can You Refuse an Applicant Based on a Poor Credit Report? How Can You Verify the Income and Employment History of an Applicant? Can You Require Applicants to Pay an Application-Screening Fee? Is Your Tenant Allowed to Sublet to Someone Else? What Should You Do If a Tenant Wants to Sublet? Should You Allow Your Tenant to Assign the Lease? Can Your Tenant Be the Landlord of a Third Person? What Should You Do If the Sub-Tenant Does Not Pay Rent? Can Your Tenant Find a Replacement When They Want to Finish the Lease Early? Should You Try to Negotiate a Settlement in Case of Conflict with a Tenant? Should You Try to Make it Easy for the Tenant to Leave Voluntarily? Should You Send a Warning Notice in Case of a Problematic Tenant? Should You Try to Seek Help from a Mediator in the Case of Conflict? Should You Try Arbitration in the Case of Conflict? Should You Represent Yourself in Small Claims Court? Are You Responsible for Protecting Tenants From Crime? How Can You Protect Your Tenants From Criminal Acts? What Safety Features Must You Provide to Tenants? What Are the Basic Security Duties Imposed by Local Ordinances? What Laws Should You Comply With as a Landlord? How Do You Find and Select a Real Estate Lawyer? Can You Be a Part-Time Landlord? Should You Hire a Property Manager? What Are the Responsibilities of a Property Manager? Should You Get to Know the Neighbors Before Renting Your Property? Should You Furnish Your Rental? Should You Note the Furniture Condition Before Renting? How Can You Effectively Get Information From the Current Owner? How Long Does It Take to Buy a Home? Should You Arrange a Professional Inspection Before Buying a Property? What Should You Do When Buying a Currently Occupied Rental? Should You Buy a Foreclosed Property? Should You Buy a Single-Family Home, Duplex, Triplex, Fourplex, or a Condo? What Are the Benefits of Co-Owning a Rental? What Are the Disadvantages of Having a Co-Owner? Should You Create a Separate Legal Entity for Your Rentals? What Are the Benefits of Forming a Limited Liability Company? What Are the Downsides of Forming a Limited Liability Company? Can You Transfer Your Property to an LLC If You Have a Mortgage on the Property? What Are the Tax Consequences of Transfering Property to a Limited Liability Company? How Do You Deduct Depreciation of Assets? How Long Does the Depreciation Period Usually Last? How Do You Calculate Each Depreciable Asset’s Actual Cost? How Do You Depreciate Additions and Improvements? What Is the Depreciation Exception Under Section 179? How Do You Establish Good Communication with Your New Tenant? How Do You Establish a Good Relationship With Your Tenant? How Can You Remind Tenants When They Fail to Comply With the Lease? Should You Keep a Record of Tenant Communication? What Is Considered “Unlawful Discrimination” in a Rental Application Process? Should You Rent to Tenants Running Home Businesses in Your Property? Can You Refuse Rent to an Applicant Who Does Not Speak English? Can You Refuse to Lease to a Person With a Disability? Can You Refuse to Lease to a Tenant With a Mental Illness? Can a Tenant With Special Needs Request Accommodations to Your Property? What Are Examples of Reasonable Accommodations? What Is the Law on Renting to Pet Owners? Can You Rent to a Minor? What Is a Homeowners Association (HOA)? Who Pays HOA Fees and Fines? Are You Allowed to Rent Property as a Member of an HOA? How Do You Deal With Dispute between the HOA and Tenants? What Can You Do If the HOA Changes the Rules? Why Should You Require Renter’s Insurance? Why Do You Need a Well-Designed Liability Insurance? Does Liability Coverage Have a Maximum Amount? What Is “Commercial General Liability” Coverage? What Is Terrorism Insurance? What Is the Non-Owned Auto Liability Insurance? What Do You Do When a Tenant Damages Your Property? Can You Cut off Utility Services from the Tenant? What Do You Do When the Tenant Breaks the Lease Before the Agreed Date? What Do You Do When Tenants Violate Their Basic Legal Responsibilities? What Happens When You Fail to Monitor the Tenants' Activities? How Do You Deal With a Tenant’s Illegal Activity in Your Property? What Are Some Common Neighbor Disputes? What Do You Do When a Neighbor Is a Nuisance? Are You Liable If Your Tenant’s Neighbor Is Causing a Nuisance? What Happens to the Lease Agreement If Your Tenant Dies? Why Should You Ask for a Security Deposit? How Much Can You Charge for a Security Deposit? How Should You Store the Security Deposits? What Are Security Deposits Usually Used For? What Is the Process of Returning a Security Deposit to the Tenant? What Are Some Common Problems When Returning a Security Deposit? What Should You Pay Attention to When Returning a Security Deposit? Are You Responsible for Protecting the Tenant From Environmental Health Hazards? What Can You Do If Your Rental Has Asbestos? Should You Warn Your Tenants About the Presence of Asbestos? What If Your Tenant Believes the Rental Is No Longer Habitable due to Asbestos? What Do You Do If Your Rental Has Lead? Should You Test the Presence of Lead? What Should You Do If Your Rental Has Mold? Why Should You Not Wait to Address Mold? Should You Try to Remove the Mold Yourself? What Should You Do to Prevent Mold? What Should You Do If Your Rental Has Bed Bugs? How Do You Know If Your Property Has Bed Bugs? How Can You Exterminate Bed Bugs From Your Property? What Are the Legal Requirements for the Disclosure of Bed Bugs? If Nothing Else Works Out, Should You Attempt to Evict Your Tenant? How Should You Initiate an Eviction Procedure? How Should You Conduct an Eviction Procedure? What Are the Steps for Eviction Proceedings? What Can You Expect to Encounter During an Eviction Hearing? Should You Try to Evict the Tenant Yourself? How Do Evictions Affect Your Maintenance Responsibilities? Do You Need to Record Rental Expenses? How Much Cash Do You Need to Keep in Reserve? What Do You Need to Do When Expenses Exceed Income? How Do You Find the Appropriate Tax Professional to Help You? Will Airbnb Hosts Receive a Tax Form from Airbnb? What Is Tax Evasion? What Are the Consequences of Tax Evasion? How Much Maintenance and Repair Is Required by Law? How Do You Maintain and Repair Your Rental? Should You Purchase Insurance Policies for Your Rentals? What Are the Guidelines for Property Inspections? What Are the Guidelines for Comparison Shopping? How Can You Use Insurance to Protect Yourself From Disasters? What Is Insurance Fraud? What Is the Legislation in the United States on Insurance Fraud? What Is the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud? What Are the Key Features of a Successful Landlord’s Policy? What Is the Scope of Your Insurance? How Much Insurance Coverage Should You Purchase? What Is the “Ordinance or Law Coverage”? What Are Punitive Damages and Are They Covered by Insurance? How Do You Choose and Work With an Insurance Agent? How Do You Choose Your Insurance? What Are the Benefits of Selecting High Deductibles? How Do You Handle Personal Property Abandoned by a Tenant? What Should You Do If Tenants Demand Their Property Back? What Should You Do If Tenants Do Not Reclaim Their Property? What Should You Do If Tenants Leave Behind Motor Vehicles? How Should You Increase the Rent? Can You Raise the Rent of a Month-to-Month Tenant? How Can You Collect Late Fees? How Can You Solve Late or Partial Payment Problems?