As a landlord, you have a set of obligations to your tenant. Understanding your responsibilities can help prevent common disputes between landlords and tenants. For example, your tenants may ask you to provide accommodations due to a disability, but if you do not know...
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Landlord/Tenant Concerns
What should you know about the Fair Housing Act?
Discrimination unfortunately has a foothold in many aspects of life. This even includes the process of leasing real estate. However, the federal Fair Housing Act exists to protect potential tenants from discrimination, providing a clear guideline to landlords on how...
How does a holding deposit work?
When you are trying to find a new rental, you have the option of paying the landlord a holding deposit. This money secures your interest in the property. You would pay this upfront to the landlord when you express your interest in the property. It can be beneficial to...
What can a landlord do with a tenant’s abandoned property?
Many California landlords have had to deal with a tenant’s abandoned property after they move out. A landlord often has to clean and repair damage along with deciding whether the property left behind is trash or valuable. There are guidelines a landlord needs to...
Understanding security deposits
There are important requirements associated with security deposits that landlords and tenants should both be familiar with. To ensure that all the parties are protected, it is essential to be familiar with how security deposits work. Requirements associated with...
Real estate leasing and the Fair Housing Act
Discrimination can occur in many circumstances. One of these circumstances is in the real estate leasing process. Fortunately, the federal Fair Housing Act protects tenants in California and across the U.S. from discrimination in the rental process, and it provides...
What should be included in a lease?
A lease is an important legal document that protects the rights of the parties signing the lease which can be different in different contexts. In a residential lease, there are certain important components of a lease that should be included that it is helpful to be...
Understanding security deposits
When a tenant rents a property in California, most of the time he or she will give the landlord a security deposit. A security deposit is money the landlord takes as compensation if the tenant damages the property or violates the terms of the lease. It can also be...
Has your landlord violated the terms of your commercial lease?
Unlike residential leases which run month-to-month or single year terms, a commercial lease can go for several years in Los Angeles. That leaves a tenant legally responsible for the rent for a much longer period of time. If the landlord does something questionable, a...
How are security deposits handled under California law?
When you rent an apartment in California, you generally put down a security deposit in addition to your first month’s rent. Security deposits can be up to two times the monthly rent in an unfurnished unit. In general, the security deposit minus deductions will be...