Property management comes with a lot of responsibilities. Miss one, and you’ll end up in a legal pit. Often, managers know little about laws and regulations surrounding their operations. This can lead to many different legal problems, like claims about your negligence or accusations of discrimination.
Negligence in Maintenance and Personal Injuries
When a tenant gets hurt because the manager didn’t make sure that the premises were safe for everyone who entered them, it is considered negligence. These incidents may result in personal injury lawsuits, which are very expensive and dangerous to deal with. Regular property inspections and timely repairs will help you avoid these issues.
If someone gets injured because there was no railing on some stairs (even after it being reported broken), then that’s on you! The court might argue that it was your responsibility to keep them safe. Or let’s say someone slips on wet tiled floors because you didn’t fix a leaky pipe. You will be held responsible for the injury and damage, and will be expected to pay compensation.
Hopefully these two examples showed just how important speediness is when receiving maintenance requests. Hopefully they also scared some sense into managers who take forever to reply with solutions whenever something goes wrong!
Violations of Privacy Rights
If a manager unlawfully breaks into a tenant’s personal space or access their info without permission, that counts as breach of privacy. Few of us willingly disturb tenants in their personal space, but we may end up crossing boundaries unintentionally.
Say, you enter a tenant’s house for a routine maintenance check when they are not home, or without prior notice. It so happens that the tenants were having a private conversation, and they were disturbed by your presence. If they wanted to, they could sue you for violating their privacy. Again, the tenants may not necessarily go to court, but it’s always better to be careful.
Sometimes, managers get into trouble for disclosing tenant information without consent. This frequently happens when electronic records are leaked or fall into the wrong hands due to inadequate security measures. Just provide proper notice before entering an apartment that isn’t facing an emergency. And be careful with personal data; only use it when you legally have to.
Having clear policies on privacy is good too! Also, educate and train maintenance staff about how to enforce these rules while working. That way, you won’t have to pay for someone else’s negligence. Also, the fact that you proactively trained your staff might just work in your favor, in case you get legal trouble.
Fair housing laws and discrimination
The Fair Housing Act in USA protects tenants from discrimination and harassment on grounds of race, color, religion, sex, gender, disability, familial status and national origin. If people break these laws by refusing potential tenants because of their race or, for example, openly saying that women aren’t allowed in certain apartments, they are violating this law.
A 2021 report by the National Fair Housing alliance shows an overview of discrimination against low income groups, people with disabilities, same sex couples, etc. They also showed that the number of harassment reports has only been increasing since 2010, with 2020 showing a record of 1071 complaints.
Discrimination isn’t always obvious though, sometimes it can be subtle. If a property manager refuses to make reasonable accommodations for elderly and disabled tenants, it is also a form of discrimination. What both examples do show is that adhering to fair housing regulations is not something you should take lightly.
Property managers must ensure all advertising as well as tenant screening and leasing processes are non-discriminatory in order to comply with fair housing laws. Staff training on fair housing practices is also essential. Regular reviews of policies and procedures against current fair housing guidelines can help maintain compliance and prevent discrimination claims.
Regular legal audits
Performing regular legal audits serve as a check for your business’ adherence to laws and regulations. Doing so in property management helps identify any potential issues that may lead to lawsuits. The benefits include: identifying liabilities you may have never known existed, ensuring compliance with current law, reinforces best practices in property management, demonstrates lawful operation which can be favorable when facing legal disputes.
A legal audit begins with an extensive review of everything related to the business’ operations within property management. A simple checklist includes reviewing lease documentation, assessing compliance with safety codes, evaluating employee training programs all the way down to examining how record-keeping is done.
Staying up-to-date with laws
As everyone should know already but some seem oblivious too… the law changes constantly! Therefore staying up to date with new real estate law is crucial for anyone dealing with property management.
Some sources you can rely on for accurate updates include government websites, legal newsletters, professional associations, and real estate law seminars. Subscribing to these sources and attending relevant events can ensure you are ahead of the curve.
Once aware of legal changes, it is vital that you integrate this new information into your operational procedures. Which could involve revising lease agreements, updating policies, retraining staff or even just casually mentioning it in a meeting to give everyone a heads up.
Know when to ask for professional consultation. Navigating certain laws isn’t easy so don’t hesitate to pay someone to to explain it to you. Drafting lease agreements, handling evictions, dealing with major tenant disputes, and responding to lawsuits- such situations might require you to call a lawyer.
How Legal Professionals Can Help Property Owners
– They can review contracts
– Advise on compliance matters
– Represent property managers in court
– Develop risk management strategies
Engaging Visual Content for Mitigating Legal Risks
When words fail you just have to try other methods. Videos and pictures can help make things easier when explaining something complicated. So imagine how much easier this stuff will be if you use them too!
Checklists for Legal Compliance
To properly manage your property it’s important to check all the boxes. With a checklist this becomes much easier though! All you have to do is go through each item and tick off what has been done correctly.
Flowcharts for Identifying Legal Pitfalls
Doing things right is just as important as knowing what hasn’t been done right. Flowcharts exist solely for this purpose! By following along with each step they provide even the tiniest mistakes become clear as day.
By using these visual tools, property managers can better understand their legal obligations and how to fulfill them. If you are reading this article, it means you are already making conscious decisions to protect your business from legal trouble. Staying updated with legal reforms will help you grow your business uninterrupted. Prevention is always better than cure!
