• Understand the fee structure: It goes without saying that you should consider the cost of the service in relation to the services offered.  Often managment companies charge 10% or more of the rental income on your properties.  You can also expect additional fees for the initial rental and maintenance costs.  Review the contract to ensure that you are not surprised by the cost of services.
• Review the rental companies proposed lease and termination notices: Ultimately, you are responsible if your manager is using outdated leases and termination notices.  Problems with these forms can cause you to lose precious time and money if your eviction proceeding is delayed or dismissed because of inadequate forms.
• Review their fair housing policies: All property managers should know that there are federal anti-discrimination laws that apply in housing rentals.  If a potential manager cannot answer your questions about the laws or openly makes discriminatory statements in your presence, you may want to think twice.
• Take a look at other properties the potential manager is currently handling.  Do they look well kept?  Is the yard maintained?  If the other properties in the manager’s portfolio look run down, you may want to look elsewhere. 
• How does the manager talk about the tenants? If a potential manager sees the tenants as the enemy, you may have future problems.  In my experience, when people have healthy relationships with the landlord or property manager, they tend to cooperate and pay the rent.  When the relationship breaks down or the tenant feels disrespected, it becomes harder to collect. 
• What are the manager’s policies with regard to scheduled maintenance and inspections?  It is a good practice to have quarterly walk throughs of your property to ensure that they are maintained.  While you are there, you can see the properties yourself and talk to your tenants if there are things that need repairing.  This is also a way to verify that the mainenance you were charged for was done in a satisfactory manner.

Today’s Topic: Abandonment by The Tenant

Sometimes tenants for one reason or another need to be away from the property for extended periods of time. Sometimes the tenant may be traveling. Other tenants simply decide to leave the unit permanently before the lease is up. Whatever the reason for these extended absences, the landlord will probably want to be informed. Unfortunately, tenants often do not tell the landlord that they will be leaving.

Abandonment can put the landlord in a tough position because it is often hard to determine whether the tenant has left the premises for good. One way to avoid any question about whether the property has been abandoned is by including a clause in the lease that requires the tenant to give notice of absences from the property that will extend beyond 14 days.

The new landlord tenant act provides the landlord some recourse if the tenant leaves the property for more than two weeks without giving notice. First, the landlord can take legal action against the tenant for damages caused by the tenants failure to give notice of an extended absence. Second, the landlord may go into the unit if it is necessary while the tenant is gone. Third, the landlord may consider the lease terminated and re-let the unit to another tenant. Finally, if the landlord finds that the tenant has left personal items behind in the unit, there is no duty to store or safeguard the tenant’s possessions. As such, the landlord can throw the items away or liquidate them as desired.

§ 35-9A-423. Remedies for absence, nonuse and abandonment.

(a) If a rental agreement requires the tenant to give notice to the landlord of an anticipated extended absence in excess of 14 days pursuant to Section 35-9A-304 and the tenant willfully fails to do so, the landlord may recover actual damages from the tenant.

(b) During any absence of a tenant in excess of 14 days, the landlord may enter the dwelling unit at times reasonably necessary.

(c) If a tenant abandons the dwelling unit, the landlord shall make reasonable efforts to rent it at a fair rental. But such duty shall not take priority over the landlord’s right to first rent other vacant units. If the landlord rents the dwelling unit for a term beginning before the expiration of the rental agreement, it terminates as of the date of the new tenancy. If the landlord fails to use reasonable efforts to rent the dwelling unit at a fair rental or if the landlord accepts the abandonment as a surrender, the rental agreement is deemed to be terminated by the landlord as of the date the landlord has notice of the abandonment. If the tenancy is from month-to-month or week-to-week, the term of the rental agreement for this purpose is deemed to be a month or a week, as the case may be.

(d) If a tenant leaves property in the unit more than 14 days after termination pursuant to this chapter, the landlord has no duty to store or protect the tenant’s property in the unit and may dispose of it without obligation.

Today’s Topic: Exercising your right to terminate

Unfortunately some tenants do not fulfill their duties under their leases. When that happens, the landlord is faced with a decision about whether or not they will terminate the lease because of a particular violation or allow the tenant to continue in the lease despite the breach. Sometimes there is a monetary reason to allow the breach, other times, the landlord may feel sorry for the tenant. Whatever the situation, Landlords who are aware of a breach should consider whether that breach is minor enough that they are willing to fore go termination completely. As a result landlords who become aware of a breach must act to promptly enforce their rights or risk losing the ability to pursue their remedies in the future. Failing to reserve the right to preserve rent before accepting rent can give a tenant a defense of waiver of the right to terminate during a subsequent unlawful detainer proceeding.

So what is a landlord to do? Make sure that you inform your tenants in writing of the breach before you accept the rent and state that by accepting rent you are in no way implying that they have completely met their responsibilities under the lease. The letter should also indicate that the breach must be remedied by the tenant or they will face termination and possible eviction.

§ 35-9A-424. Waiver of landlord’s right to terminate.

Acceptance of rent with knowledge of a default by the tenant or acceptance of performance by the tenant that varies from the terms of the rental agreement constitutes a waiver of the landlord’s right to terminate the rental agreement for that breach, unless otherwise agreed after the breach has occurred.

Today’s Topic: The Landlord’s Rights if Tenants Neglect Their Responsibilities

Earlier we focused on the tenant’s responsibility to maintain the dwelling. Today we will talk about what the landlord may do if the tenant seriously neglects his or her responsibilities. First let’s look again at the tenant’s responsibilities.

The new law essentially imposes upon tenants a duty to treat the property in a way that would not diminish its value. To that end, the law requires the tenant to:

• Keep the apartment reasonably clean. This includes taking out the trash as well as general cleaning that would be necessary to ensure that the property is not damaged.
• Refrain from deliberate or negligent behavior that would damage the property. Examples of this might be allowing large objects to be put down the drains. This could also include removing or destroying the fixtures in the unit without the owner’s permission.
• Refrain from using the apartment in such a way that would be a safety hazard. This might include interfering with the wiring or using the stove as a heating unit or other risky behavior that could cause damage to the unit.
• Refrain from behaviors that would be disruptive to the neighbors.

Although having these provisions in the law is extremely helpful, it is a good idea to include a set of rules in the lease or as a signed exhibit to the lease so that each tenant understands the landlord’s expectations. Landlords should review the property rules with each tenant at the signing of the lease and make sure that the rules are signed by the tenant in case there is a future legal dispute.

If the landlord determines that the tenant has created a problem within the unit that needs immediate intervention the landlord may take action to correct the problem and charge the tenant for the cost of repairs. If, however, the problem is not an emergency but does have a serious effects on safety conditions in the unit or a presents a significant health concern, the landlord may take steps to remedy the problem. In the case of a non-emergency, the landlord must give the tenant a seven day notice that identifies the condition that must be remedied and allow the tenant to correct the problems. Landlords should be careful that they do not simply enter the dwelling and make repairs without first considering whether the problem is a true emergency. Some examples of an emergency that may give rise to an immediate right to enter and repair might be:

• The tenant has left on a faucet that is leaking into another apartment and causing significant flood.
• The tenant has left the gas on or damaged a gas appliance causing a safety hazard

§ 35-9A-422. Failure to maintain.

If there is noncompliance by the tenant with Section 35-9A-301 materially affecting health and safety that can be remedied by repair, replacement of a damaged item, or cleaning, and the tenant fails to comply as promptly as conditions require in case of emergency or within 7 days after written notice by the landlord specifying the breach and requesting that the tenant remedy it within that period of time, the landlord may enter the dwelling unit and cause the work to be done in a workmanlike manner and submit the itemized bill for the actual and reasonable cost or the fair and reasonable value thereof as rent on the next date periodic rent is due, or if the rental agreement has terminated, for immediate payment.

§ 35-9A-301. Tenant to maintain dwelling unit.

A tenant shall:

(1) comply with all obligations primarily imposed upon tenants by applicable provisions of building and housing codes materially affecting health and safety;

(2) keep that part of the premises that the tenant occupies and uses as clean and safe as the condition of the premises permit;

(3) dispose from the dwelling unit all ashes, garbage, rubbish, and other waste in a clean and safe manner;

(4) keep all plumbing fixtures in the dwelling unit or used by the tenant as clear as their condition permits;

(5) use in a reasonable manner all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, and other facilities and appliances including elevators in the premises;

(6) not deliberately or negligently destroy, deface, damage, impair, or remove any part of the premises; or knowingly, recklessly, or negligently permit any person to do so; and

(7) conduct himself or herself and require other persons on the premises with the tenant’s consent to conduct themselves in a manner that will not disturb the neighbors’ peaceful enjoyment of the premises.

Today’s Topic: Removing Non-Compliant Tenants

The new landlord tenant law allows landlords to terminate the leases of tenants who fail to comply with the lease, create a hazard or fail to pay rent.  In order to terminate the tenancy of a non-compliant tenant, the landlord must give a 14 day notice to tenants who fail to comply with the lease or cause a hazard.  If the tenant has failed to pay rent the landlord need only give a 7 day notice before terminating the tenancy. In either case, the notice must explain to the tenant the nature of the deficiency and explain how much time the tenant has to cure the problem before termination. If the tenant does not cure and remains in possession of the dwelling the landlord may pursue an unlawful detainer.

§ 35-9A-421. Noncompliance with rental agreement; failure to pay rent.

(a) Except as provided in this chapter, if there is a material noncompliance by the tenant with the rental agreement or a noncompliance with Section 35-9A-301 materially affecting health and safety, the landlord may deliver a written notice to terminate the lease to the tenant specifying the acts and omissions constituting the breach and that the rental agreement will terminate upon a date not less than 14 days after receipt of the notice. If the breach is not remedied within the 14 days after receipt of the notice to terminate the lease, the rental agreement shall terminate on the date provided in the notice to terminate the lease unless the tenant adequately remedies the breach before the date specified in the notice, in which case the rental agreement shall not terminate.

(b) If rent is unpaid when due and the tenant fails to pay rent within 7 days after receipt of written notice to terminate the lease for nonpayment and if the rent is not paid within the 7-day period, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement at the expiration of the 7-day period. If a noncompliance of rental agreement occurs under both subsection (a) and this subsection, the 7-day notice period to terminate the lease for nonpayment of rent in this subsection shall govern.

(c) Except as provided in this chapter, a landlord may recover actual damages and obtain injunctive relief for noncompliance by the tenant with the rental agreement or Section 35-9A-301. If the tenant’s noncompliance is willful, the landlord may recover reasonable attorney’s fees.

Today’s Topic: What Happens in Case of Catastrophe?

Accidents happen. Unfortunately for property owners and tenants, sometimes when accidents happen the property may be damaged in such a way that it cannot be used for its intended purpose. Perhaps the problem is water, smoke or fire damage that requires significant repair. It could also be that a storm causes significant damage to the property that makes it no longer suitable for occupants. As long as the reason for the damage is not the tenant’s negligence or intentional acts, the landlord tenant act makes clear that there is no duty on the part of the tenant to remain in, or pay rent for, a property that is severely damaged. If the unit is destroyed or severely damaged the tenant can choose to vacate the property by giving the landlord notice of termination of the lease or stay in the undamaged portion of the property at a rental rate that is reduced by an amount that will compensate for the loss of use of the damaged portion of the property.

§ 35-9A-406. Fire or casualty damage.

(a) If the dwelling unit or premises are damaged or destroyed by fire or casualty not caused by the tenant to an extent that enjoyment of the dwelling unit is substantially impaired, the tenant may:

(1) immediately vacate the premises and notify the landlord in writing within 14 days thereafter of the tenant’s intention to terminate the rental agreement, in which case the rental agreement terminates as of the date of vacating; or

(2) if continued occupancy is lawful, vacate any part of the dwelling unit rendered unusable by the fire or casualty, in which case the tenant’s liability for rent is reduced in proportion to the diminution in the fair rental value of the dwelling unit.

(b) If the rental agreement is terminated pursuant to this section, the landlord shall return all security recoverable under Section 35-9A-201 and all unearned prepaid rent. Accounting for rent in the event of termination or apportionment shall be made as of the date of the fire or casualty.