Top 5 Reasons Why Landlords GET SUED

We want to help you avoid getting brought into court and having to pay any type of fines that is why we are sharing with you the 5 top most common reasons why landlords get sued. Read on to know these reasons so you can avoid them.

Reason #1: Not handling security deposits correctly 

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In Massachusetts, property managers and landlords are required to take the tenant’s account and to get a copy of their ID. You can open up a separate interest-bearing escrow account at a bank. In addition, you have to provide the interest upon the anniversary of the bank account opening, which is a lot of work. If you don’t do any of it, you could be charged three times the actual damages. If the security deposit is $3,000, you could be responsible for up to $9,000.

Reason #2: Illegal security deposit or false security deposit deductions 

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When a tenant moves out of the property, a landlord will try to charge tenants for any damages they caused. You have to be very careful with this because if you don’t have to prove that you paid, and you don’t have the receipts that you prove that you paid for the damage, the tenant can go into court and fight against you. You have to make sure that you take pictures and it’s above wear and tear.

Reason #3: Not handling maintenance 

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In Massachusetts, a landlord can be brought into court if their property is not maintained well.  Having the wrong vendors to take care of your maintenance is not an excuse.

Reason #4: Deleading

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In Massachusetts, if you have a child under the age of 6 years old living in the property, you have to have the property inspected by a deleading inspector. If there’s any lead at the property, you have to hire a full-risk deleader or moderate, depending upon how much work it is. It could be expensive and sometimes a rigorous process in having that property deleaded.

Reason #5: Discrimination

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Having a well-thought questionnaire is the right way to go when checking for prospective tenants. Because if you’re not prepared enough and turned them down for whatever legitimate reason, saying the wrong words may be used against you. Having a preference for gender is just one of the things that can bring you to court.

You have to be careful about asking questions about their race as well. If the judge finds out that you did these questions, regardless of how bad their credit is or their income, or whatever other reasons you have to turn them down, they can sue you.

With those reasons above, we hope that you took something from this and that you learn from it. If you or anyone else you know is looking for proactive property managers who not only help you solve your problems, but to avoid them in the first place, think of Green Ocean Property Management, you get more than a property manager, you get peace of mind.