As a landlord, it can be grueling to recognize when a tenant’s negligence might leave you in a total mess. When they sign the contract, hopefully, your renter agreed to keep your Valley Stream rental home clean and properly maintained and to refrain from illegal activities. Not all tenants will heed to the agreement in the lease, and predicaments that emerge on the property can speedily grow into headaches for you.
Although you are not deemed culpable for the prohibited schemes your tenant may take, if you find out that your rental home is being used to conduct business, and your owners’ association does not allow this activity, your neighbors could hold you accountable. The ramification of any legal action quoted against you will seemingly bank on two things: how much you knew about the problem (and when), and whether or not you took steps to stop it.
How and When You Knew
Sometimes tenants are very adept at hiding shady activities from their landlords. In spite of that, if you do realize something ensuing on your rental property, it is imperative to take moves at once to focus on the adversities. In some regions, if your renter does something dangerous or illegal as a result of ongoing activities of which you were aware, you could be held liable in court. For example, if you knew one of your tenants was using your rental home as a daycare and one of your renter’s or their clients hurt someone, themselves, or damaged personal property, the court could be more likely to hold you liable for any damages.
The Slippery Slope of “Should”
In some conditions, the argument of whether or not you “should” have known about your renter’s illicit activities may happen. For example, if you perceive your tenant is self-employed before you hand them a lease, there is some disorientation about whether or not that you should have presupposed they would be overseeing that industry in the rental home. Correspondingly, if your renter had been evicted for loud parties in the past, you may be held accountable since you should have checked with their previous landlord about it. Needless to say, if you’ve executed due diligence and didn’t find any affirmation of previous issues, that will extend your opportunity of avoiding liability.
Addressing the Problem
It is constantly a good idea to handle any hassles a renter is creating right after you learn about it. But from time to time, a property homeowner has a minimal ability to thoroughly settle the issue. If a tenant is creating a nuisance for the neighbors but hasn’t actually broken the terms of the lease, you can’t be held responsible for failing to evict them. In order to be liable, you must have the aptitude to genuinely do something about the dilemma. Of course, the flip side is that if your lease makes it clear that you don’t approve of roaring parties or business engagements and you don’t take steps, you might be on the hook of a lawsuit.
In Conclusion
The specific terms and language used in the lease is an important first step toward holding your tenants accountable for any nuisance or illicit activities. Having said that, taking immediate and appropriate action is also critical to keeping yourself from being sued by angry neighbors. Screening your renters carefully is another vital part of keeping yourself out of displeasing legal inconveniences, as is achieving property evaluations. At Real Property Management Innovation, we do all of this for our Valley Stream property owners – and more. Would you like to learn more? Please contact us online or by phone at 516-570-9275 for more information.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
