Ten Landlord Legal Mistakes to Avoid via FindLaw

Being a landlord is a complicated endeavor. Not only do you have to worry about the usual headaches like leaky pipes and broken dishwashers, but there are extensive legal requirements that are waiting to trip you up. Here is a list of the ten most common legal mistakes that landlords make, and tips on how to avoid falling into these traps yourself.

Asking Discriminating Questions

A landlord should refrain from asking certain questions to a prospective tenant. This is one of the more serious legal mistakes that landlords make. Because the federal Fair Housing Act prohibits a landlord from refusing to rent property to a tenant for discriminatory reasons like race, color, religion, national origin, sex or gender, disability, and familial status, a landlord should avoid questions that may appear discriminatory or suggest a discrminatory intent. For instance, questions about the severity of a disability or marital status can result in a lawsuit or in an investigation by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). A landlord does, however, have the right to use standard tenant screening methods like credit and reference checks, but weeding out tenants based on the use of discriminatory information is illegal.

Failure to Make Disclosures to Prospective Tenants

One of the less obvious legal mistakes is the failure to disclose important information about the rental property. Every state has different requirements, but common disclosures include the following: notice of mold when the landlord knows or has a reason to believe that it exists, information about a state’s sexual offender registry, notice of sex offenders that live in the area if the landlord has actual knowledge, and disclosure of recent deaths that occurred in the rental unit. Federal law requires that a landlord disclose whether the rental unit contains lead-based paint if the property was built before 1978.

Using Illegal Provisions in a Rental Agreement

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