All About Landlord Disclosures, Addendums, and Notices
As a real estate investor and renting to tenants, it’s important that you know about the paperwork, laws and regulations that govern the way you do business. The regulations established by each governing body provide guidance on the necessary disclosures that must be made to each tenant who moves into one of their properties. Ignorance of the law is no excuse and if you do it incorrectly you can find yourself in many legal and financial problems.
There are different disclosures for different areas, but there are some that apply across the country. We will discuss these below:
Hazardous Materials Notice
This is not required in all municipalities, but is common in California. Inform tenants of any hazardous materials used in the construction or rehabilitation of the property.
Lead-Based Disclosures
This is a federal disclosure and must be disclosed to tenants. In order to comply with this disclosure, it is necessary for you to know when your home was built, specifically before 1978. If your home was built before 1978, you will need to provide a brochure provided on the federal government website stating that your home has been exposed plumb. to paint. You will also need tenants to sign the form indicating that they are aware that lead-based paint may be in the home.
mold notice
Mold has received a lot of attention lately and can cause homeowners a great deal of liability. You can get mold statements from many homeowner form sites scattered across the internet.
In many cases, these notifications do not necessarily mean there is a problem with your home or unit. It is simply informing the tenant and complying with federal, state and local laws governing notices and disclosures.
roommate amendment
This really comes into play for us since we live in a college town. The person signing the lease breaks the terms of the lease and the roommate claims ignorance about the whole situation. This amendment makes the roommate liable for property damage as well as the lease. It is important to know who lives on your property. I always get a list of each person who will be a roommate for the person and also ask them to sign the lease.
pet amendment
This amendment is very important if you decide to allow pets into your rental property. Allowing pets can be a niche market, since many do not allow it. We have specific units that allow pets. These units often have hardwood floors so we don’t have to worry about pets destroying the carpet. Keep in mind that pets can also destroy laminate flooring. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you have hardwood floors in a unit when you actually have laminate flooring. Damaged laminate flooring caused by pets can often be worse than the damage they cause to your carpet. Also be careful about the type of pet you allow on the property. If a tenant has an aggressive pet that bites someone, you could be held liable. Be sure to clearly state what type of pet they are allowed and be very specific. If you allow pets, it’s a good idea to request an additional deposit for the property. Pets can cause a lot of damage to a property as we have learned over the years. Cats in particular, if not cleaned up afterward, can leave an odor that is very difficult to remove, especially on carpet.
