As a landlord or property manager, most issues related to your tenants should be easily solved without incident. However, there may be cases where you find yourself in a heated and costly legal battle. Therefore, it is important for you to understand when a tenant may decide to hire a lawyer so that you may be prepared to hire or consult your legal counsel.
You are Evicting a Tenant: When you evict a tenant they have the right to fight the eviction process. They may hire a lawyer to argue that your eviction is illegal.
Your tenant believes you discriminated against them: If a tenant believes you have discriminated against them, they may hire a lawyer to argue in court for you to stop the discriminatory action and even sue for damages. Furthermore, they may make a formal complaint to the department of housing and urban development (HUD). If HUD believes the tenant's claim is valid, they may offer the tenant legal services at no cost and a judge can award the tenant compensation and impose penalties on the landlord.
Your tenant believes you have not made necessary repairs: If a tenant believes you are putting off necessary repairs and ignoring their requests for repairs they may hire a lawyer to communicate their concerns, try to settle the matter or even take you to court.
A tenant is injured on your property: If a tenant believes he or she has been hurt as a result of a landlord's negligence they may sue the landlord for damages.
A tenant's property has been damaged as a consequence of a landlord’s action or inaction: If a landlord’s failure to maintain the property results in a tenant’s property being damaged (e.g. old pipes burst and ruin a tenant’s electronics) they can hire a lawyer to recover the cost of the lost property.
The best way to avoid being sued by your tenants is to complete all your required landlord responsibilities and have open communication. However, even the most responsible landlords can find themselves at the other end of a lawsuit by a tenant. As a landlord, you need to protect your investment by ensuring you keep reliable records in your property management system. It is not enough to act according to tenant laws and requirements; you need to be able to prove you have been. That is why you need RISSOFT’s Property Management Software System today.
This post is provided by RISSOFT Residential and Commercial Property Management Software, specializing in innovative and cutting-edge property management software for all 50 states. Request a demo or contact us today to receive more information.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this post in not intended to be construed as legal advice, nor should it be considered a substitute for obtaining individual legal counsel or consulting your local, state, federal or provincial tenancy laws.
Comments