Just about every time an apartment crime occurs, it seems the victim sues the owner for negligence. If a crime occurs at your site, the question of whether or not an owner has provided households with adequate security will be the crux of any legal analysis. If a court rules that you didn’...
One of the most common complaints among households is loud and disruptive neighbors. Unreasonable disturbances of other households with noise from loud music, fighting, and partying are common lease violations.
Even in the age of Facebook and other social media, many sites still feature bulletin boards in their lobbies or common areas. Since not every resident will be tech savvy or want to go online to check the latest site news, a bulletin board can be an effective way for a site to inform households...
Residents frequently need you to let friends, relatives, or workers into their units when they aren’t home. But it’s risky to do that since you could inadvertently be letting a criminal into one of your residents’ units. If something happens to the resident or her property, you...
Sites generate a lot of records, such as leasing records, maintenance records, security deposit records, incident reports, and so on. Because these records take up space in leasing or management offices, most staff members want to get rid of them as soon as possible. But these records can help...
It’s hard to enforce all the lease provisions residents must comply with, such as bans on pets and home businesses. At some point, you may overlook a resident’s violation of a lease provision for several months. But if you ignore the violation for too long, you may lose your right to...
One of the toughest situations you can face is when a household withholds rent over a claimed problem in a unit. Sometimes the problem is something major, such as no heat or hot water for an extended time. Other times the problem is something minor, such as a broken dishwasher. And still other...
Concerns over property damage and dog bite injuries may lead some owners to ban pets from a site altogether. Yet some residents may keep pets despite the ban. If you find that a resident has a pet, how you address this lease violation can determine whether you’ll be held liable if the pet...
Many state housing finance agencies are adding energy assessment and conservation measures to their Qualified Allocation Plans (QAPs) that encourage owners and managers to take steps to reduce their site’s energy and water usage and to engage and educate residents in making the site a...
Getting departing residents to pay their final month’s rent can be difficult. Many residents think it’s fine to tell owners to apply their security deposit to their final month’s rent.
Many units, especially older ones, aren’t set up to handle washing machines, dryers, and other large appliances. But even if your units don’t have hookups or the capacity to handle these appliances, some residents may still bring in portable units and connect them to the electrical...
As summer approaches and temperatures begin to rise, residents and their guests may be tempted to go up on the roof and sunbathe, barbecue, or just cool off from their hot units. Unfortunately, allowing people on the roofs of your site’s buildings can cause you many problems. For example,...
