Before vacating a property because her unauthorized pet sparked a noise complaint, a tenant poured cement into the drains and washing machine and glued the dryer door shut. Prior to moving, she demanded her deposit back before allowing an inspection. Another tenant...
Category
Rental Property Management Tips
Minneapolis Tells Landlords to Accept Tenants with Criminal Past, Evictions
Minneapolis City Council has passed an ordinance that seeks to prohibit landlords there from rejecting tenants based on criminal history, prior evictions, or low credit scores. The contentious measure, dubbed the Renter Protection Ordinance, is similar to a tenant...
5 Landlord Forms, 5 Ways to Make Them Better
Rental forms are key to good property management. Here are some ideas to help you make the most of your landlord forms: 1. Rental ad Not all landlords see the rental ad as a part of the leasing package, but the ad is a tenant's first impression and sets the stage for...
Landlords Sued Over Facebook Rental Ads
Seven landlords in the Washington, D.C. area are now facing a lawsuit over online rental ads they placed on Facebook. The social media platform earlier was sued by housing advocates over allegations it enabled race, gender and family discrimination by allowing...
Tenant Trashes Unit, Wants Deposit Back
A Vancouver landlord recently detailed in the news how he found his rental unit after his disgruntled tenant moved out: cement in the drains, toilet, and appliances, holes in the walls, the dryer door glued shut, and the key glued into the lock. Only three weeks into...
Is Your Rental Application Doing Its Job?
There's a lot riding on a rental application. Getting it right means staving off tenant fraud and quickly eliminating applicants who are not qualified. To accomplish that, the application needs to contain all the requisite parts, without muddying the waters with...
Pet Policy Basics: What Works (and What Doesn’t)
Whether to allow tenants to keep pets is an important decision for every landlord. The decision requires a balancing act, choosing between happier tenants versus the potential for more property damage at the end of the tenancy. The benefits of pet-friendly properties...
British Columbia Announces Rent Increase Guideline for 2020
The annual rent increase guideline for 2020 in British Columbia is set at 2.6%. That figure represents the maximum most landlords can increase rent throughout the year. To increase rent, a landlord must provide notice to the tenant three months before the increase is...
Manitoba 2020 Rent Increase Guideline
The 2020 rent increase guideline for Manitoba is set at 2.4 percent. That figure is slightly higher than the previous year. In comparison, the 2020 rent increase guideline for British Columbia is set at 2.6%, and the 2020 guideline for Ontario is 2.2%. To increase...
10 Worst Landlord Blunders
Let's face it: we all make mistakes. The best thing we can do is set things right, forgive ourselves and move on. But that doesn't mean we can't learn from other people's missteps: 1. Frustrated over an unauthorized pet, a landlord entered a tenant's apartment when...