A Property Managers Guide to Resolving Noise Complaints Noise is everywhere around us. But when noise occurs in a rental property, it can cost a landlord time and money. That's reason enough to become proficient at handling noise complaints. These complaints can be difficult to resolve because: 1. Most noise disturbances occur in the middle of the night; 2. It can be tricky to identify the source; 3. Enforcement efforts are not always successful; and 4. Sometimes the complaining tenant is...
Sorting out the Responsibility: A Guide to Bed Bug Removal for Landlords and Tenants
At some point or another any landlord is likely to deal with bedbugs. As a...
Adding a New Tenant to a Lease
Adding a New Tenant to a Lease Whether someone is adding a roommate or having...
The Pros and Cons of Turning Your Rental into a Smart Home
Over the past decade, home automation has gone from science fiction to...
Landlords Sued for Refusing to Move Rent Due Date
The owners and property manager of an apartment building in Georgia are facing charges by HUD after a dispute with a tenant over the rent due date. The tenant received income from disability benefits and received those payments the second Wednesday of every month. For...
Rent Payments Wane as Stimulus Talks Stall
Ninety percent of renters made full or partial rent payments as of August 20th, according to the Rent Tracker survey conducted by the National Multifamily Housing Council. The survey encompasses 11.4 million professionally managed units and is encouraging news for...
Worst Tenants Ever
An Ottawa landlord has been trying to evict his nightmare tenants for months. The issue: snakes. When the landlord confronted the tenants over their collection of more than two dozen dangerous snakes left to roam freely in the rental unit, he was met with insults and...
Why Landlords Need to Check Tenant Credit
Some tenants grumble about running their credit during a tenant background check. They say it invades their privacy or that their credit doesn't matter. But credit does matter. Here's why: Credit Reports Serve as a Cross-Check The secret to exposing tenant fraud or an...
How to Use Your Tenancy Agreement to Reduce Landlord Liabilities
Because landlords have a legal duty to maintain a safe rental property, they stand to lose if someone is injured there. So, it makes sense to prevent those injuries and avoid the liability. The tenancy agreement is a great opportunity to do just that: Carbon monoxide...
Ontario’s New Eviction Law
Bill 184, also known as the Protecting Tenants and Strengthening Community Housing Act, which includes Ontario's latest amendment to its eviction procedures, has become law. So far, the reaction has been mixed. In a press statement, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs...
5 Things Landlords Need to Know About Tenant Screening
Finding the right tenants is key to any profitable rental business. Here are some tips that make tenant screening easier and more effective for landlords: 1. Tenant fraud is a real and growing concern for landlords. The best way to expose fraud is to catch it early....
Tenant Screening Tips: The Adverse Action Notice
When the information in a credit, eviction, criminal history, or other investigative report provided by a tenant screening agency negatively impacts the landlord's decision regarding an applicant, that applicant is entitled to notification. This is referred to as an...
Landlords Face More Eviction Hurdles
There is a lot of talk these days about evictions. Where landlords were stymied by the initial eviction bans, now that some states have extended their bans into the fall and the federal government announced an extension is in the works, frustration is boiling over...
Tenants, Landlords Await Next Stimulus
Most renters made full or partial rent payments this month, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council's Rent Payment Tracker. The survey of over 11 million apartment units across the country found 91.3 percent tenants made efforts to pay. While that's good...
Landlord Says Never Again
Eighteen months. That's how long a Guelph landlord anticipates that his tenant will live in his rental home without paying rent. Systemic eviction delays, with or without an eviction moratorium, allow tenants to game the system and choose when -- or if -- to pay rent....
6 Ways to Improve Your Tenancy Agreement
A tenancy agreement is a useful tool -- if it contains the right provisions. Generic or standard leases tend to leave out the details, leaving tenants in the dark. These provisions can strengthen the lease, light the way for tenants, and make life easier for...
British Columbia Updates Eviction Policies
British Columbia's Residential Tenancy Branch has announced that some eviction cases can move forward after being stalled since March. Landlords now can issue eviction notices for reasons other than non-payment of rent or late rent payments. Tenants can be served...
Toronto Multifamily Landlords Ordered to Supply Hand Sanitizer
Multifamily landlords in Toronto must supply hand sanitizer or hand-washing stations at entrances and in common spaces after City Council voted on a temporary by-law intended to increase compliance with Toronto Public Health guidance during the pandemic. Concerns over...
Dos and Don’ts of Rental Advertising
With summer rental season in full swing, landlords are gearing up to find new tenants. A lot is riding on the rental ad. Not only do landlords need to attract good tenants, they need to avoid mistakes that increase liabilities and cause property management headaches...
Rents Dropping? These Tenants May Be to Blame
Across the country, rents are dropping, according to virtually all major analytic firms. How much depends on the locale, and how spooked landlords are about filling the next vacancy. Given the economic fallout from the pandemic, that is not a surprise. Nor is it a...
6 Things Landlords Need to Know About Early Termination Fees
Lease termination fees are a gray area in property management. Not all fees are legal, even if the tenant agreed to it in the lease. States handle this issue differently, so there's no universally correct policy. And the reason the tenant is leaving can impact the...
Landlords Ordered to Educate Tenants on Social Distancing Guidelines
Threatened with the loss of rental licenses, some Boulder, Colorado landlords have been compelled to educate their tenants on social distancing guidelines. The city, home to the University of Colorado -- and infamous parties -- says pressuring landlords may be the...
5 Strategies for Attracting Great Tenants
When it comes to finding the best tenants, it's all about probability. If 100% of the applicants responding are good prospects, then the tenancy will be a success. If 100% are bad, that will guarantee failure. The less you are exposed to bad applicants, the less...
What You Don’t Want to Know About Your Tenants
A landlord recently took a novel approach to filling a vacancy. Rather than use a rental application, this landlord decided to leave it to tenants to write two or three paragraphs "describing" themselves. That's a risky strategy. This tactic not only makes it more...