Tenant Verification Services provides landlords and property managers with a variety of screening options. Select a market to sign up or learn more.
A U.S. Court of Appeals last week passed down a ruling broadening the liability that landlords face for racial discrimination under the Fair Housing Act. The court found that a landlord could be liable for discrimination under the FHA for failing to resolve a dispute...
In a move that is being touted as historic, Kansas City, Missouri City Council has passed a much anticipated tenant bill of rights. For landlords, it's not as bad as it could have been. Tenant rights have been in the forefront for some time in this city which is...
Whether you're a first-time landlord or a property-management veteran, success depends upon the commitment to actively manage the rental property. These three fundamentals form the backbone of property management strategy: Tenant Screening Leaves Less to Chance It's...
Reducing liabilities is an important part of maintaining profitable rentals. Winter comes with its own set of risks, so take a moment and consider how you can avoid these common cold-weather liabilities: Carbon Monoxide Carbon monoxide is a silent killer. Minimal...
Vancouver lawmakers have approved a new rental-zoning policy designed to increase the number of rental home available in the city by easing density restrictions. The new policy will allow four-storey townhomes and apartment buildings on side streets and provides for...
Toronto City Council unanimously adopted a colour-coded rating system modeled after the DineSafe restaurant rating program. Apartment buildings will be subject to inspection, and beginning in March 2020, these rating cards must be displayed for prospective tenants. It...
Berkeley, California City Council is moving forward with a proposed ordinance which would prohibit landlords from inquiring about a rental applicant's criminal history, including violent crimes. Several other cities -- Portland, Seattle, Minneapolis to name a few --...
Most landlords understand that there are circumstances when they must allow a tenant with a disability to keep a companion animal. But for some landlords, each companion animal request raises the same nagging question: what if this is a scam to avoid fees or to keep a...
Seattle's controversial "first-in-time" ordinance, requiring landlords to accept the first qualified renter, has been reinstated by Washington's Supreme Court. Previously, a lower court had ruled that the ordinance violates landlords' constitutional rights by denying...
Landlords pay for wear and tear. Tenants pay for damage. It's a simple rule. Or is it? "Ordinary wear and tear" is one of the blurriest legal terms in property management, and the distinction is far from easy to spot. Lawmakers have attempted to define the term with...
Landlords face a growing risk of tenant fraud. Providing false information in the rental application is the main source of this fraud, which can lead to significant income loss for landlords. Tenant fraud can impact any landlord, but smaller rental businesses and...
Eviction might seem like a safety net for landlords -- a backstop to income loss. If a tenancy turns sour, just boot the deadbeat and try again. Unfortunately, eviction is far from smooth sailing and there is no way for a landlord to come out of it unscathed: To evict...
In the midst of a rental housing shortage, lawmakers are giving the green light to homeowners to open suites -- in basements, back rooms, and garages -- to tenants. Ontario recently sought to lessen the regulatory burden of bringing these units up to code. But it...
Investors in Ottawa are angry over a proposal that would limit their ability to rent income properties on platforms like Airbnb. A group calling itself Short and Suite is collecting signatures for a petition it plans to present to city lawmakers demanding that owners...
In a tight rental market, landlords need to tighten their tenant screening practices as well. Tenants who never gave a second thought to late rent payments or property damage now can find themselves unable to qualify. So, they get creative. Social media makes it easy...
While lawmakers are looking for ways to accommodate more renters, like California's new push to license in-law suites, many property owners are taking advantage of the hot market and renting out their homes rather than selling. And that means more people are becoming...
A Los Angeles landlord has agreed to pay a local fair housing agency $15,000 and undergo anti-discrimination training after denying companion animal requests. The fair housing agency sent six testers to the properties to pose as rental applicants with disabilities who...
A landlord in Zion, Illinois, and her tenants, have filed a lawsuit challenging the city's rental inspection ordinance. According to the landlord's attorneys from the Institute for Justice, the ordinance grants the city broad authority to inspect and re-inspect rental...
A landlord who struggled for months to evict a professional tenant says he has learned a lesson: it's easy for scammers to take advantage of the law. After investigation, a news report details this tenant's history with at least three landlords where he failed to pay...
With social media so prevalent today, it's easy to see why landlords would turn to these platforms to get an insider's look at prospective tenants. But social media research has its drawbacks, and landlords may want to rethink changing up their tried-and-true tenant...
