Properly understanding the potential legal consequences of a tenant’s negligence is a significant challenge for landlords. When your tenant signed the lease, they agreed to suitably maintain your Merrifield rental home in a clean and proper condition and refrain from illegal activities. But, on the other hand, not all tenants adhere to these terms, and complexities that start on the property can promptly escalate into legal problems for you.
Despite that you are not held responsible for the illegal activities of your tenant, if you know that your rental home is being used for unauthorized business activities, your neighbors could potentially hold you responsible. The outcome of any legal action taken against you will largely depend on your awareness of the issue and the steps you took to properly deal with it. Being proactive in such circumstances is vital to protecting your interests.
How and When You Knew
Once in a while renters are pretty good at hiding shady activities from their landlords. Then again, if you do figure out what’s happening on your rental property, it is critical to address the issues immediately. In most regions, you could be held liable in court if your tenant engages in dangerous or illegal activities that you have knowledge of.
For instance, if you knew one of your tenants was using your rental home as a daycare and one of your renters or their clients hurt someone, themselves, or damaged personal property, the court could certainly hold you liable for any damages.
The Slippery Slope of “Should”
In certain cases, whether you “should” have known about a renter’s illicit activities may arise. For instance, if you realize your renter is self-employed before you offer them a lease, there is some confusion concerning whether or not that entails that you should have assumed they would be conducting that business in the rental home.
On the other hand, if your renter had been evicted for raucous parties in the past, you may be held accountable since you should have checked with their previous landlord about it. Obviously, if you’ve done due diligence and didn’t glean any evidence of past problems, that will intensify your chances of avoiding liability.
Addressing the Problem
Addressing any problems a renter creates as soon as you hear about them is always a good idea. Nevertheless, sometimes, a property owner has a limited ability to totally fix the issue altogether. If a tenant is creating a nuisance for the neighbors but hasn’t surely broken the lease terms, you can’t be held responsible for failing to evict them.
To actually be liable, you must have the power to categorically do something in relation to the issue. But, of course, the flip side is that if your lease clarifies that you don’t allow boisterous parties or business activities and you don’t take action, you might be on the hook in a lawsuit
The specific terms and language used in the lease are a crucial first steps toward holding your tenants accountable for any nuisance or illicit activities. Together with that, taking immediate and appropriate action is likewise really important to keeping yourself from being sued by perturbed neighbors.
Heedfully and thoroughly screening your renters is another essential part of keeping yourself out of unwelcome legal trouble, as is working on regular property evaluations. At Real Property Management Deluxe, we do all this for our Merrifield property owners – and more. Would you like to discover more? Take time to get in touch with us online or by phone at 218-454-7368 for more information.
Originally Published on February 8, 2019
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.
