As we enter March, slip and fall season is still in full swing. As we have written in the past, the Colorado Premises Liability Act can cast ...
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Everyone is familiar with a security deposit disposition report or a SODA (Statement of Security Deposit Activity). However, the importance...
Disability related requests made by non-disabled tenants based on the disability of their guests can be extremely complicated. Everyo...
At a recent class fair housing class, a client asked an interesting question. Coincidentally, right after the class, another client h...
Betty and her dog Rover have lived at your pet friendly community for several years. Like many residents, Betty spends a lot of time ...
Since the Colorado General Assembly enacted the Warranty of Habitability Act (“WOH”) in 2008, each year the number of war...
The man is a fair housing tester. Fair Housing testing has greatly increased over the last twelve months. The Denver Metro Fair Housing Cente...
On November 2, 2015, HUD announced its policy that Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) and federally-assisted properties should exclude the use...
Does a landlord have to allow assistive animals at no pet communities or no pet properties? Yes. Assistive animals are not pets. Assistive an...
Most landlords know that a substantial violation is the appropriate eviction notice when tenants engage in criminal conduct. However, we stil...
As most of us know, the economic rental market over the last several years has left many housing providers singing the blues. Because...
We haven’t written about bankruptcy (BK) issues for quite some time. Unfortunately, the current economic climate has resulted i...
One resident shouts racial slurs at another resident. This is a dispute among residents. You can’t be held responsible, c...
You took over a new property, and you discover that it is infested with bedbugs. You do everything possible to get rid of the pests. ...
Is Your Lease on file? If not, you should consider having it on file. Why have your lease on file you ask? The reas...
Hiring an outside security company that provides armed security guards raises serious liability concerns. One particular armed securi...
THS clients often ask for our assistance to evaluate reasonable accommodation requests. The demand for reasonable accommodation legal assista...
Reasonable accommodation requests come in all shapes and sizes. By now, you should know that you never deny a request without fully evaluat...
Disabled residents who need parking accommodations are entitled to them. Period! However, similar to other reasonable accommoda...
Handling numerous evictions, a wide variety of situations pop up. One situation we see on a regular basis is a tenant leaves the prop...
The public does not expect to deal with a real estate broker (“broker”) when leasing an apartment. Who is a broker? ...
Credit card usage has exploded. Trillions of dollars are charged every year on Visa an...
Most landlords are familiar with the requirements of the Colorado Security Deposit Act (the “SDA”). However, many landlords don’t know ...
This month we take an in-depth look at House Bill 16-1426. The purpose of this bill is to crack down on service animal fraud. House Bill 16-1...
When did property management become so challenging? Owners and managers who have been in the industry for many years remember simpler...
Time flies in the multi-family industry. Eight years have passed since we first wrote about Companion or Emotional Support Animals in...
Last month we introduced and discussed key companion animal concepts. This month, after clarifying the confusion caused by recent changes t...
You Have To Be All In To Handle Companion Animal Requests
The last two months we have discussed companion animals. We have learned...
Many residents request “companion animals”. There are many pitfalls associated with such requests. Companion animal...
Last month we outlined the topic of companion animals and covered some key concepts. This month, we take a hard look at how courts ru...
Your community doesn’t rent to criminals. Because criminals are not a protected class, criminal history is a legitimate non-dis...
Overall, most tenants are good. They carry out the prime directive by paying their rent on time and don’t bother other folks, including you...
A resident has sued you in small claims court. What do you do? You have three options. First, you can defend yourself.&nb...
Valued at over twenty billion, Airbnb is the UBER of rentals. Through the Airbnb website, people can rent rooms, apartments, and homes. Over ...
Firm clients have endless Fair Housing issues. These issues arise in a variety of contexts. Sometimes clients contact us to ans...
We have taught hundreds of fair housing classes over the last twenty years. Overall, t...
We taught many advanced Fair Housing classes this past month. Surprisingly to us, and probably distressful to regional managers and executi...
Disabled residents make requests. Residents request both reasonable modifications and reasonable accommodati...
Clients frequently call for advice when a fire or other casualty event has damaged the community. While casualty events can vary significantl...
Courts recognize three forms of housing discrimination. Most landlords know that it is illegal to intentionally discriminate against ...
Every community has a leasing office. Almost every community has a model apartment. Disability discrimination is the number one...
Recent changes to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) have resulted in numerous client inquiries. FCRA was originally enacte...
The Lofgren and Johnson Families Carbon Monoxide Safety Act (“the Act”, “the law”) becomes effective July 1, 2009.&...
We get many dog bite situations. If a tenant’s dog bites another tenant or somebody else, a landlord is not automatically liable. In Colora...
Since we get a lot of questions about domestic violence (DV), and haven’t written about it for quite some time, this month we answer ...
Crime is an unfortunate reality. Many managers are torn about reporting crimes at their communities. Most managers want to info...
To state the obvious, snow falls in Colorado during the winter. When it snows, snow needs to be plowed at your community. This means every co...
Thieves steal rent from rent drop boxes. When they do, clients call us with a host of questions. Did the resident pay their ren...
The resident moved out, but still owes a balance. You send out the security deposit disposition informing the resident that you will ...
A funny thing happened in Ann Arbor at the NAA Legal Symposium this year. I ran into myself. Not literally. I don’t mean my doppelganger. I...
Clients regularly contact us with situations regarding entry and access issues. Entry issues involve notice, whether the tenant has a right t...
We’ve seen this scenario play out a thousand times. A resident lives at the community for several years. The resident nev...
Application policies run the gamut. As a result, clients frequently have application related questions. The most common questions stem from...
The importance of having a good lease cannot be overstated. A good lease solves and prevents countless problems. The statement ...
The importance of having a good lease cannot be overstated. This month’s article is Part II in our ongoing series about leases....
You are familiar with common reasonable accommodation requests. Everyone knows that a blind resident can have a guide dog. Howe...
We first wrote about FACTA in January 2009. FACTA stands for The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA). This federa...
A good lease is critical to successful property management. Some lease provisions are desirable, some lease provisions are important,...
Just when you thought you knew it all, there is always something more. Never is this truer than when it comes to Fair Housing. ...
One of the most common questions asked by managers, leasing professionals, and owners in Fair Housing trainings is, “What can I or ca...
Fair Housing is serious business. Fair Housing discrimination charges, or even worse lawsuits, can cost thousands of dollars to defen...
The fair housing discrimination avalanche continues to gather momentum. Every year the number of housing discrimination complaints filed with...
Recently, we addressed the issue of social security numbers. Can you require them? See the November 2005 edition of Landlord Ne...
By now, most landlords are aware that Colorado has enacted several laws that protect domestic violence victims. However, many landlords may n...
Sadly, the recent floods have affected countless rental units and tenants. The floods’ devastation have resulted in possibly ov...
In 2005, the General Assembly passed a domestic violence law to protect domestic violence victims. The law was called “Victims of Domestic ...
The resident owes the rent. You send the three-day and get a court date. After the court date, you get a call from our office.&...
Security deposit issues consistently arrive at the THS situation desk. If you are in the rental industry, you must have a solid understanding...
We regularly deal with abandonment situations for clients. Some cases are clear-cut. However, many abandonment scenarios are mu...
Residents commit all types of lease violations. Many owners and management companies have not evaluated their lease compliance enforc...
The police will contact you about a resident. It is only a matter of time. Our clients often ask a range of questions about dea...
Medical Marijuana (“MM”) dispensaries are popping up on every corner. The MM dispensaries are growing like weeds because ...
When you first become a firm client, we ask you who should be the plaintiff in your eviction cases. What is the name of the company t...
Property left in garages is problematic for countless reasons. Surprisingly, the variations of garage scenarios we see at the firm are endles...
The election results are final. Colorado along with Washington State became the first two states to legalize the recreational use of ...
Communities are amenity centric. Many communities offer swimming pools, hot tubs, business centers, fitness centers, bike rentals, and more. ...
On April 4, 2016, HUD released its tenant criminal background screening guidance (“Guidance”), Office of General Counsel Guidance on ...
Tenants violate leases. Managers enforce leases. If tenants always paid their rent on time and never caused problems, owners wo...
If residents always paid their rent on time and stayed through their lease term, you wouldn’t have to worry about lease break damages...
Some claim that the average urban American is photographed or videotaped 75 times a day. Inexpensive digital photography and video equipment ...
That’s not covered! And I’m getting sued! Do you know where you stand if disaster strikes? The majority of la...
Technology constantly evolves and impacts how landlords interact with tenants. THS handles client situations and court cases every day that i...
Local jurisdictions have banned certain dog breeds. Government bans do not cover all dogs but only certain breeds. The governme...
Nearly 200 billion text messages are sent monthly. As the popularity of text messaging grows, texting programs have become more c...
It is not uncommon for a unit to be partially or totally damaged. From fires to floods, there is never a shortage of events that caus...
The media has been all marijuana all of the time. At least part of the hype can be explained by the calendar. Even though Amend...
Disabled residents are entitled to make reasonable accommodation requests. The firm sees the full gambit of requests. Just when we think we...
Military personnel have enjoyed special legal protections since WW I. At that time, Congress enacted the Soldiers & Sailors Civil...
Abandonment is a timeless issue. Clients never stop asking about it since abandonment scenarios happen regularly. Because failu...
Mold situations arise on a regular basis. Because we have handled a large number of mold situations recently, we thought it was time to revis...
Mold issues frequently light up the situation board. Residents get hysterical over mold. The hysteria is unfounded. Mold ...
We wrote about money orders four years ago. Since then, clients have continually had situations involving money orders, most involving stolen...
Consistently calculating move-out fees pose challenges for most landlords. What can you charge a tenant on a move-out statement (MOS) is one ...
When the weather turns colder, accidents are likely to increase on rental properties, due to snow and ice. Many property managers utilize the...
Over...
The new domestic violence law became effective July 1, 2005. The new law grants domestic violence victims certain rights by amending Colora...
Despite the concerted efforts of countless firm clients and the Firm, the Colorado General Assembly passed HB19-1118 (“1118”, “new evic...
During the 2017 legislative sessions, the Colorado Legislature passed a law affecting the use of real estate forms including leases and prope...
Starting in August 2018, all Colorado landlords will be required to provide their tenants with a copy of a lease and provide tenants with a r...
A proposed law will significantly change the tenant application process. The law will pass in some form and is likely to pass close to its cu...
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One of the things I enjoy the most about being an attorney is that I constantly get to learn about new subjects. However, I would hav...
What is the Federal occupancy standard under the Fair Housing Act (FHA)? This is a question I frequently ask at THS fair housing classes. The...
Accidents and other events result in injuries to residents on rental properties. A bursting pipe may cause damage to a resident&rsquo...
In the modern electronic age, more and more management companies allow residents to pay rent either online through their websites, or by su...
Multifamily housing providers are finding themselves positioned at the center of two colliding trends: an increase in apartment living and a ...
Parking is a hot topic in the Colorado rental market. There never seems to be enough parking for your tenants. As a manager, you have to deci...
Partial payments affect evictions. Partial payment scenarios arise in different ways. If a landlord accepts a partial payment during the evic...
More attention needs to be paid to owner legal entity names and apartment community names. Specifically, the industry needs to pay more atten...
Real Estate Commission compliance is once again a hot topic; partly because of the flood of new owners and property management companies co...
We handle countless day-to-day situations for our clients. Unfortunately, sometimes situations illustrate the lack of a needed policy or proc...
We handle countless day-to-day situations for our clients. Unfortunately, sometimes situations illustrate the lack of a needed policy...
A Boulder County Judge recently dismissed an eviction case. The judge ruled that the landlord’s three-day demand for payment of...
There are situations where third parties may appropriately have access to information that has been exchanged between you and your tenants an...
Landlord-tenant law has significantly changed in the last 40 years. The law continues to increase residents’ greater legal rights. Th...
Unfortunately, some residents leave owing you rent and damages. You have three options to collect. One, handle it yourself in s...
Unless you’re living in a cave, you know that the Colorado General Assembly passed House Bill 1356, and the governor signed this law ...
Restraining orders, as an issue, frequently come up in the rental industry. One resident has a restraining order against his ex-girlf...
A resident made a reasonable accommodation request (“request”) for three companion dogs. She had a licensed therapist advocatin...
This resident has been trouble for a long time. Over the last 5 months, you have thought about evicting him at least a half dozen tim...
The new Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) Regulations go into effect in March 2011. Some clients subscribe to various industry pu...
The business axiom that it costs less to keep a customer than to get a new customer certainly applies to the rental industry. Every community...
Residents frequently complain about secondhand smoke (“SHS”). Is second- hand smoke harmful? Residents certainly th...
If you are in the rental industry, you must have a solid understanding of security deposit law. Security deposit law ...
Senior discounts in housing are controversial. The law is not clear on senior discounts in rental housing. Society’s allo...
Federal fair housing law does not protect sexual orientation, but Colorado fair housing law does. Under the Colorado Anti-Discriminat...
A tenant has sued you in small claims court. What do you do? You have three options. First, you can defend yourself. Second, you can consult ...
Our clients frequently deal with social security number (“SSN”) issues. Can we require applicants to have SSNs? What if a prosp...
Making the tenant pay for damage can be problematic. For example, a tenant’s own washing machine doesn’t stop filling and floods several ...
Tenants have disputes with other tenants. Addressing these disputes is one of the most difficult challenges faced by managers. Managers often...
Every week clients call into THS with questions regarding a subpoena that they have received. In order to make you aware of the importance of...
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) just decided several potential societal altering cases. With the high court issuing rulin...
The business axiom that it costs less to keep a customer than to get a new customer certainly applies to the rental industry. Every c...
Can tenants possess guns at an apartment community? If determined solely by the United States Constitution, the answer would be yes. The Seco...
Tenants do outrageous things. Tenants can make you mad, upset, and drive out other good tenants. Tough problems call for tough ...
Under fair housing laws, disabled residents and prospects are entitled to make requests for reasonable accommodations. A reasonable a...
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT) addresses identity theft and became effective November 1, 2008. FACT amended the Fair ...
Attorneys’ fees are an important factor in a landlord tenant case. Because smaller amounts are usually at stake, the amount of attorn...
THE LEASE BREAK – FUTURE RENT DEBATE
Your lease should cover how much money residents will owe when residents break their le...
Congress recently passed significant bankruptcy reform legislation. This new law goes into effect October 17, 2005. A brief discussio...
Clients call us all the time about reasonable accommodation requests made by their residents and prospective residents. Two recent reasonab...
Everyone in the rental industry should know that military personnel have special legal protections under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Ac...
THE TYPE OF RENTERS INSURANCE YOUR RESIDENTS OBTAIN IS IMPORTANT A majority of communities require residents to...
The battle over tenant eviction records is being waged in state legislatures across the country. Landlords want a complete picture to determi...
“Come, senators, congressmen, please heed the call, don’t stand in the doorway, don’t block up the hall”. When Bob Dylan wrote these ...
It is a demonstrable fact, based on research, that the first two minutes of interaction with a prospective resident can determine whether the...
Applicants and residents make requests to modify their units. You are a dedicated Fair Housing provider. Assuming that the resi...
The City of Boulder and properties in Denver County (Denver) in Colorado have now expanded what is considered a “protected class” for the...
As a multi-family property owner/manager, it’s important to understand the compliance requirements of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the Am...
Hopkins Tschetter Sulzer recommends three possible medical marijuana policies. The first policy camp is prohibition. Marijuana ...
Clients frequently seek our advice about problem contracts. To name a few, vending machines, copiers, waste and snow removal, cable, laundr...
We have written about the importance of filing cases in the correct party name. It seems like a simple concept, file the case in the name of ...
With school out for the summer, many clients are reporting that children are causing an unusual amount of problems at their communities. Un...
Most landlords are familiar with the requirements of the Colorado Security Deposit Act (the “SDA”). However, many landlor...
We are involved in collecting rental debt for all types of clients. From national managers and owners to single owners. For a l...
By the late 1960s, bedbugs had virtually disappeared. The bedbug’s demise was due to the wide use of the pesticide DDT. T...
Meth labs have been a growing problem throughout Colorado and across the U.S. Nationally, more than 8,000 meth labs were raided last ...
In a perfect world, no tenant would ever move out until his lease expired. He would provide a thirty-day notice (if required), move o...
In Part I on “When A Tenant Moves Out”, we analyzed and discussed the difference between the legal concepts of surrender versus...
Colorado’s new warranty of habitability law (C.R.S., § 38-12-501, et. seq.) becomes effective September 1, 2008. If you di...
Should a tenant’s assistance animal be allowed to go wherever the tenant goes around the community? If the tenant goes to the clubhouse, fi...
Almost all communities are playing music for resident listening, and/or TVs for resident viewing. However, most communities aren’t aware th...
Who is the biggest potential fair housing liability on your property? Because maintenance staff is on the property every day and easi...
I can’t tell you the number of times a client asks me a question, and I respond by say...
Fair Housing Testers (Testers) may show up or call your community at any time. Testers are highly trained to carry out their fair hou...
Since the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) certification requirement goes into effect on April 22, 2010, this is a good time t...
Your community was built in 1982. A wheelchair bound resident at your community has trouble accessing the leasing office. The d...
Social Security Numbers And Application Policies
Our clients frequently deal with social security number (“SSN”) issues. Can we require applicants to have SSNs? What if a prosp...
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