As a landlord, it can be difficult to realize when a tenant’s negligence might situate you in hot water. When they signed the lease, hopefully, your renter agreed to keep your Fitchburg rental home clean and properly maintained and to refrain from illegal activities. Not all tenants will execute the terms in the lease, and troubles that commence on the property can rapidly rise into a bigger concern for you.
Conceding that you are not held obligated for the prohibited endeavors your renters may perform, 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 effect of any legal action done against you will probably count 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
At times tenants are perfectly well at hiding shady activities from their landlords. But, if you do know what is taking place on your rental home, it is significant to take the initiative at once to take on the matter. 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. Take one 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”
Occasionally, the question of whether or not you “should” have an idea about a renter’s illicit activities may appear. As for instance, if you perceive your tenant is self-employed before you present them a lease, there is particular confusion with regards to whether or not that entails that you should have supposed they would be doing that business in the rental residence. Furthermore, 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. By all means, if you’ve done due diligence and didn’t determine any confirmation of former issues, that will optimize your possibilities of avoiding liability.
Addressing the Problem
It is really an excellent idea to handle any problems a renter is making as soon as you get to know about them. However, sometimes, a property owner has a limited capacity to totally resolve 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 should have the ability to definitely take action about the concern. Of course, the other aspect is that in case your lease says that you don’t approve of deafening parties or business operations and you don’t take the appropriate actions, you are perhaps on the hook in 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. However, executing prompt and fitting steps is also helping keep yourself from being sued by annoyed neighbors. Screening your renters mindfully is an additional significant element of saving yourself from an unacceptable legal problem, as is executing frequent home evaluations. At Real Property Management Greater Madison Metro, we carry out all of this for our Fitchburg property owners – and more. Would you like to learn more? Please contact us online or by phone at 608-310-1290 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.
