Families are a protected class, so even if the property is such that owner could be assuming potential liability by renting to a family with children, the owner cannot deny tenancy on that basis. For instance, if an owner doesn’t want children in a houseboat because of concern that a child might fall off and drown, that decision is not the owner’s to make and denying tenancy on that basis would be considered discrimination.

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Nothing found herein should be construed as an attempt to offer or render a legal opinion or otherwise engage in the practice of law. You should obtain the advice of an attorney well versed in these matters

The listing and selling brokers do not have authority to give notice to the tenant. Although this seems obvious sometimes the parties get overzealous and forget.

Nothing found herein should be construed as an attempt to offer or render a legal opinion or otherwise engage in the practice of law. You should obtain the advice of an attorney well versed in these matters.

According to a recent Apartments.com survey 75% of tenant said they have pets.  This is a significant increase from their last survey. Allowing pets on a case-by-case basis (with an additional, refundable deposit) not only increases your potential tenant base but also decreases the chance of tenants sneaking an animal in while allowing you to pick and chose which pets you allow.

We are here to help you and your clients with all aspects of the rental market. Please contact us for further assistance!

Nothing found herein should be construed as an attempt to offer or render a legal opinion or otherwise engage in the practice of law. You should obtain the advice of an attorney well versed in these matters.

Not only is it common sense to shred confidential documents, it’s also Federal Law.  The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) requires that all information taken from consumer reports must be shredded before disposal.  Consumer reports include credit reports and scores, residential or tenant records, check writing histories (tenant ledgers) and insurance claims.  The law covers all media – paper, discs, hard drives and CDs all have to be destroyed.

We are here to help you and your clients with all aspects of the rental market. Please contact us for further assistance!

Nothing found herein should be construed as an attempt to offer or render a legal opinion or otherwise engage in the practice of law. You should obtain the advice of an attorney well versed in these matters.

Seattle tenants must receive a copy of the Seattle Rental Ordinance when signing a lease or a lease renewal.  The required information includes information about the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants and also includes the Seattle Just Cause Eviction Ordinance, which lists the 18 reasons why a tenancy can be terminated, even at the end of a lease term.

http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/cs/groups/pan/@pan/documents/web_informational/dpdd016420.pdf

We are here to help you and your clients with all aspects of the rental market. Please contact us for further assistance!

Nothing found herein should be construed as an attempt to offer or render a legal opinion or otherwise engage in the practice of law. You should obtain the advice of an attorney well versed in these matters.

When calculating how much to charge a tenant for damage, a landlord must take into account the age of the component to be repaired or replaced. Logic would tell you that a tenant wouldn’t be responsible for paying for replacement of 20 year old carpet; but when is a tenant responsible for a portion of the cost? In order to determine what percentage should be the tenants, you must first determine the effective life of the component. The best way to do this is to find an unbiased source.  As much as possible, we use HUD guidelines but the Master Builders’ Association also has information that can be used. HUD guidelines say that interior paint should last two years and carpeting should last six years.

We are here to help you and your clients with all aspects of the rental market. Please contact us for further assistance!

Nothing found herein should be construed as an attempt to offer or render a legal opinion or otherwise engage in the practice of law. You should obtain the advice of an attorney well versed in these matters.

The purpose of a tenant deposit is to protect the landlord from damage or loss caused by the tenant. The tenant is responsible for returning the property in the same condition, less normal wear and tear. If the tenant damages the property, the landlord can charge the tenant the reasonable cost to return the property to the same condition as first leased.  Please note that some expenses will need to be depreciated based on the age of the item being replaced.  Some landlords want to, in essence, charge tenants for damage without doing the work to remedy the problem. The courts don’t like these sorts of punitive fines. Judges want to see copies of invoices for work done if the tenant is charged for damage.

 We are here to help you and your clients with all aspects of the rental market. Please contact us for further assistance!

 Nothing found herein should be construed as an attempt to offer or render a legal opinion or otherwise engage in the practice of law. You should obtain the advice of an attorney well versed in these matters.