One of the most important aspects of any business is to protect the business against potential liability. Residential and Commercial property owners need to protect their source of income from legal issues and or lawsuits that can not only hurt the their bottom line, but can also put their property at risk.
According to Lawyer Ron Leshnower there are several of steps that property owners can do to prevent potential liability in the form of lawsuits from their tenants. According to the law every landlord must make sure that their rental apartments are “fit” and “habitable”. It is not enough for their rental property to fit this description when the tenants move in as the landlord or property manager must insure the property stays both “fit” and “habitable” throughout the least agreement . That means landlords and property managers need to repair property issues right away and continuously inspect the property to prevent potential tenant injury. Leshnower suggest that if the landowner cannot fix a potentially hazardous issue right away that he or she place cones or signs to let their tenants know of the danger.
Findlaw.com lists some less obvious landlord legal mistakes that every property owner or manager should be aware of. For example, the property owner must treat any items left behind by a vacating tenant as abandoned property. That means the property owner must inform the former tenant on how they can claim their property, they must let them know the cost for storage and how long the tenant has to claim the item or items. If the tenant fails to claim the property within a given time period and it is worth less than a certain amount (based on state laws) then the owner can keep the item or get rid of it. If the value of the item or items is more than the specified amount the owner may sell the property at a public sale after putting an ad for sale in a local newspaper.
However, it is not enough for a property owner to just follow the law and take steps to prevent liability. A property owner must be able to potentially prove in court that they followed these legal requirements. That means a landlord or property manager must have a Property management system that is organized and efficient. RISSOFT software for property management has features such a document organization that enables landlords to keep tenant and apartment related information in one database. Landlords can use RISSOFT software for property management to protect themselves from liability by keeping all apartment related repairs and documents in one easy to locate database so that if a tenant ever does brings a frivolous lawsuit against the property owner , the property owner will have all the information he or she need to win in court.
This post is provided by RISSOFT Residential and Commercial Property Management Software, specializing in innovative and cutting-edge property management software for all 50 states. Request a demo or contact us today to receive more information.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this post in not intended to be construed as legal advice, nor should it be considered a substitute for obtaining individual legal counsel or consulting your local, state, federal or provincial tenancy laws.