Category: Landlord Tenant Law

Landlord 101 – General rules all Landlords should be aware of

Posted by perrylawoffice on

Partial Payments: 

In general if a Landlord wants to evict someone who has not paid rent, they should not accept any future rent. Acceptance of rent, even partial rent, could prevent a landlord from receiving an order of possession from the Court or from the Sheriff enforcing such an order during the Writ process.

Personal Property Left in Unit:

Allen County has a local rule regarding personal property left in a rental unit after the Landlord regains possession. A landlord must send a letter, giving a Tenant 14 days to remove their belongings.

Security Deposit Letter:

Some refer to this as the 45 Day Letter. Once a Landlord regains possession of the unit/house they MUST send a letter itemizing how the security deposit was applied to damages or back rent. If there is any deposit left, the letter must also include a check for the remaining amount. This needs to be sent to the forwarding address provided by the tenant.

Prorate carpet:

In Allen County the court requires that a Landlord prorate carpet to a 7 year life span. To do this a Landlord needs to have a copy of the invoice when the carpet was originally installed (for the install date) and an invoice for the newly installed carpet (for the install date and cost). The Landlord may only charge for the remaining life of the carpet, not the entire replacement cost of the carpet. Creating a Carpet Prorate sheet to show how you came to this amount is highly suggested and in most cases required.

 

Some of these Rules are solely for the Allen County, Indiana area. Many courts treat the above slightly different and may have their own local rules. Please contact your local court or attorney for the common practices/rules in your area. Facts and history between the Landlord and Tenant may also change the actual outcome.  Perry Law Office can help with your eviction needs.

What are a Landlord’s responsibilities if a Tenant dies?

Posted by perrylawoffice on

This is a common question with numerous semi-complicated answers depending on certain facts. I will try to explain the most common questions Landlords have when a current Tenant dies.

One common misconception, is that once a Tenant dies their lease is terminated or canceled. That is not necessarily true. A Personal Representative or holder of a Small Estate Affidavit may continue to the pay the rent as normal while they administer the deceased Tenant’s estate.

Who has a right to access the apartment, take personal belongings, or receive a security deposit refund?

  • There are a number of ways an heir or other interested party can acquire the right to a deceased Tenant’s apartment, belongings, and return of security deposit. Make sure you keep a copy of whatever document they provide and ask an Attorney if this document gives them the right and protects you if you allow access to the apartment.
    1. The most common is by being appointed the Personal Representative (or Executor) of the deceased Tenant’s estate. Once appointed, that person, now steps into the shoes of the deceased Tenant and has the duty to inventory, dispose of, and handle all of the Tenant’s affairs. If the estate is over $50,000 in value they still must go through the Probate process and be appointed as Personal Representative.
    2. If the tenant’s total assets are under $50,000 a Small Estate Affidavit may be used, which gives that person the rights as if they were appointed a Personal Representative by the Court. This does NOT require filing anything with the Court.
    3. The 3rd and less common way for someone to gain access is by having an Affidavit for Information only. This affidavit allows a person to access the apartment, review financial documents, and other things to determine the estimated value of the state prior to them deciding if it must be probated or they can use a Small Estate Affidavit.

What do I, as a Landlord have to do?

  • A Landlord should NOT provide access to any third party (i.e., give them a key or unlock the door) without them having provided proof as set forth above.
  • Get a copy of any document presented to you giving this person Authority to Access. Can ask to see their driver license or other form of ID to prove they are the correct person. Keep copies in the Tenant’s file.
  • A Landlord should NOT change locks or prevent a third party access who may already have a key. That is NOT the Landlord’s responsibility unless they have a reasonable belief that unauthorized people are stealing or damaging the apartment.
  • A Landlord should work with the person, as it is in their best interest to allow that person to remove items and return possession as soon as possible. Chances are, in most cases the Landlord will have little recourse to go after an estate of a deceased Tenant for unpaid rent or damages as there is usually no or very little money.

What about Security deposits, 45 Day Letters (letter itemizing how security deposit was applied), and personal property left in the apartment?

  • These processes stay the same, Landlord must follow the rules and laws regarding returning the deposit, sending the 45 day letter, and proper storage and disposal of personal property. Landlord can take it a bit further and reach out to an emergency contact if no person has contacted the Landlord regarding the deceased Tenant to try to determine who should receive letters, remove property, receive refund of security deposit, etc.
  • If you have tried to return the security deposit and it was never cashed for some reason or another, and you have used due diligence and reasonably attempted to find an appropriate person, you should then turn the deposit over to Indiana Unclaimed. You have to provide as much relevant information as you can. Then the state of Indiana holds the money and waits to see if any interested party ever claims it. You do NOT want to hold money and be responsible for it.

 

For more information on Landlord Law or to speak with us, contact Perry Law Office for a free consultation.

 

Landlord and Tenant Law in Indiana: Dangers in Advertising

Posted by Perry Law Office on

ADVERTISING: You have purchased a house or apartment complex and now you want to rent it out. Or you have recently obtained a position as manager of rental units for an owner. The first step of course is locating tenants. There are pitfalls and liabilities that you can incur simply trying to obtain tenants. The Indiana Consumer Deceptive Practices Act applies to the leasing of Apartments as well as other matters. You should not make any representations in your advertisement which you know, or should know are not correct. A deceptive act in an advertisement for the leasing of Apartments could subject the owner or the management company to civil fines. An owner can be held liable even if the owner did not draft or cause the deceptive statement to be published. The key is whether or not the owner authorized the use of the advertisement. An example of a deceptive act in advertising is an ad that claims that a rental unit has certain accessories, amenities, or benefits which are not actually available. If certain appliances or amenities are only available in certain units you must be careful in your advertisement not to imply that those items or amenities are available in all units. Special offers or promotions can also get you into trouble. For example if the special offer is limited as to the number available or there is a time limitation on the offer you must be clear and indicate that in your advertising. If your offer of 1 months free rent, or special pricing, or no security deposit applies only to certain units, you must make it clear that there is a limitation like that in your advertisement.

You can also violate the Fair Housing Act in your advertising. If you use pictures of people in your advertising, and the pictures of the tenants in your advertisements are always of a certain race, or are always adults without children this could be construed as an intent to discriminate. Also be careful of certain words used in the advertisement that may be indicative of discrimination. Words such as private, restricted, or exclusive should be avoided. Always use common sense, and make sure you make no statement that is in any way misleading or false in your advertising.

Adveristing is very important Landlords and Management Companies, however if done incorrectly, it could become very costly or result in unanticipated negative consequences.

If you have a question regarding advertising your rental houses, apartments, complexes, or duplexes, call the attorneys of Perry Law Office for a free telephone consultation. Better to be safe than sorry.