Tenant Verification Services provides landlords and property managers with a variety of screening options. Select a market to sign up or learn more.
New York Governor Cuomo is sending out the troops -- an army of "testers" posing as rental applicants. Their mission: to root out discrimination. According to a statement issued by the Governor's Office, the new Fair Housing Enforcement Program will build on the...
Filling vacancies is a fact of life for landlords. The focus always is to find a new renter as soon as possible, but it is equally important to find the right tenant. Holding a rental property on the market a couple more days is much cheaper than evicting a bad...
A landlord in British Columbia recently learned a costly lesson regarding tenancy agreements and early termination fees. The case provides some valuable insights for landlords. In this instance, the tenant initially agreed to a one-year lease term, but before moving...
Sizing up a rental applicant is one of the toughest jobs landlords face. Just ask anyone who has been burned by a bad tenant and has spent time and money trying to recover the rental property. Because applicants are all unique, landlords must learn to be flexible when...
A Calgary landlord was ordered to pay over $12,500 in fines for failing to provide smoke detectors and safe emergency access in a secondary suite. Firefighters noted the omission when responding to a minor fire at the property. Fortunately, no one was injured....
The rental business would be significantly simpler if there were one universal lease agreement form that could be used in every situation. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Because lease agreements must address the specific rental property and the particular...
A tenant writes: Tenants are deliberately causing noise in the apartment above us. The landlord's notices have no lasting affect. Can we withhold part of the rent to buy materials to reduce noise? This question highlights why it is so crucial for landlords and tenants...
A Connecticut landlord has agreed to pay a monetary settlement to a mother of two after the woman's rental application was rejected. According to a lawsuit filed by HUD, the single mother with twins applied to rent a two-bedroom apartment. The applicant alleges that,...
Lawmakers in San Francisco are championing a measure that would ban landlords there from evicting tenants who work as teachers during the nine-month school term. The proposed rule builds on existing legislation that protects families with school-aged children from...
The announcement that British Columbia is doubling the filing fee required to evict a bad tenant underscores a simple truth: Eviction is expensive. It's not just the administrative fees. Evictions take time and that means lost rent. Disgruntled tenants are more likely...
If only there was one lease agreement that would work perfectly for every landlord and every rental property. But in fact, lease agreements must be tailored to the individual rental property and the individual landlord's policy preferences. That can create confusion...
Choosing the best tenants is at the heart of a successful rental business. Here are some easy steps to improve tenant screening and shore up your rental profits: 1. Prequalify rental applicants on the phone before agreeing to meet for a property tour. Confirm...
It's a common problem throughout the country: professional tenants who abuse the court system to stall evictions, living rent-free. In the worst cases, these tenants jump to the next rental property and repeat the pattern, racking up a half dozen or so landlord...
A landlord in New York is claiming that his tenant committed fraud by creating the impression that he was from a wealthy celebrity family in order to score a posh penthouse. According to a news story, the landlord says he is out $100,000. He filed a lawsuit alleging...
Q: How can a landlord find out if a person is smoking inside their unit? Are there special detectors you can install that will register the tobacco smoke? Do you have to actually catch them smoking or is just the smell of smoke from their apartment enough? I think a...
Gold Hill, Colorado is a tiny mountain community of about 250 people. A local landlord there is in the news after turning away a same-sex couple, allegedly because renting to this family would draw too much negative attention. The landlord said she wanted to keep a...
Q: I am a landlord that has been taken advantage of many times. It is shocking how much there is online about landlords taking advantage of tenants while the truth is that the laws that provide and allow for tenants taking advantage of landlords is also shocking, and...
A tenant who defrauded landlords by moving in with an unsuspecting girlfriend and then bouncing cheques pleaded guilty to other fraud charges, according to a recent report in the Toronto Star. A repeat offender, the tenant told reporters that he has been before the...
Q: How can a landlord find out if a person is smoking inside their unit? Are there special detectors you can install that will register the tobacco smoke? Do you have to actually catch them smoking or is just the smell of smoke from their apartment enough? I think a...
Security deposits are a double-edged sword. On the one hand, they are an indispensable tool in restoring a unit quickly. They help in tenant screening by raising red flags -- like, if a tenant can't afford a deposit (may not be income qualified) or won't pay one (lost...
