Rental Property Topics

TheLPA.com forum postings

I want to sell my three unit property in MA, and would ideally like to attempt to sell on my own before utilizing a realtor. Does anyone know of any free or inexpensive listing services (other than Craigslist), or a good FSBO program to utilize?

Thanks

eviction pics
Have you seen those eviction pictures on the LPA's facebook page?
Nasty. I'll be sending in some of my pics too. You'll have to see them to believe them.

background
Should every tenant be given a criminal-background check? Does this cause applicants NOT TO rent?

Nebraska law
We rented a single home to 2 couples on a 2 year lease. One of the couples moved out. Now the remaining couple is claiming that that they only have to pay half the rent. Don't believe this is accurate but not familiar with Nebraska Law. Does anyone have any info on Nebraska Law and/or could someone recommend an attorney in the Omaha Area that I could confer with.

need prop mgmnt license if I own SFHs in DC?
I own two single family homes in Wash DC which I rent to section 8 tenants. Both properties are owned by an LLC I created to manage my properties. If i'm managing my properties through this LLC, do I or my partner need to get a property management license? I'm thinking in the case where a tenant tries to sue me..could the attorney use my not having a prop management license against me? I do not manage anyone else's properties.

damages v wear and tear
Would "the tub has lost its shine" be considered damage?

Our landlord wants us to get an estimate to have the tub reglazed because during my husband and my 2.5 year tenancy, the tub has "lost its shine". It is a jacuzzi tub and the house was built in the 1970s. The tub might be original to the house. During that time, twice we've had a house cleaner out, and we've used the occasional tub spray cleaner on it. Twice the landlord has come up and cleaned it herself (while we were away at work without notifying us that she was going to do it). We live in the upper unit above the house that she owns and lives in.

We had it cleaned yesterday in preparation for our departure and although it cleaned up very nicely, she said its her property and her hurts her to see the tub this way. I am not joking! I have tried Gel Gloss on it which didn't really help restore its shine. Should we comply and pay for a reglazing?

Additionally, she wants us to have her wood floor refinished as we used Swiffer cleaner on it and not proper wood cleaner. As she said the finish is damaged. To us It looks like a wood floor that has been walked on for 2.5 years.

She holds a 600.00 deposit, but what she is asking us to do will most likely exceed that amount. We are 2 middle aged professionals (in career transition). The landlord is a real estate agent (although I think her license is on inactive status).

Thank you for any objective perspective that can be provided.

storage of personal property left behind
In New Hampshire, the law reads "A landlord shall maintain and exercise reasonable care in the storage of the personal property of a tenant who has vacated the premises, either voluntarily or by eviction, for a period of 28 days after the date upon which such tenant has vacated." I filed for eviction of the tenant. They requested a court appearance stating on their request to the court, dated Nov. 4, "I have moved from the property." Since they left many personal effects, and they requested the hearing, I did not get the writ of possession until Nov. 25 (the tenant never showed to the hearing). Do I have to hold their personal property for 28 days from Nov. 4 or Nov. 25?

Smoking Allowed?
I'm in the Oklahoma and I had an owner ask if it's legal to prohibit the tenants from smoking in the house.

I know state govt's have made an effort on banning smoking in public places but I do not believe that you can explicitly prohibit smoking inside the house.

Can someone clear the air for me? (No pun intended)

1 in 7 borrowers behind in mortgage or in foreclos
Wow, I saw tonight on the nightly business report tonight that 1 in 7 borrowers are behind in mortgage or in foreclosure. Seems like a scary place out there right now. It make does worry me about the future of real estate.

Pro's and Con's to owning rental realestate...
Would there be a value, would you be willing to pay, as a Landlord, to have at your disposal, a tenant ready to rent your property as soon as it's vacant? I am writing a research paper for school on the pro's and con's of being in the rental realestate business, so if you could quantify your answer monitarily (honestly and realistically) it would help me describe what level of urgency the "vacancy" problem brings about. I am researching the cons of rental realestate ownership at this point; so what would you say are the other major difficulties or minor pains that tend to add up with owning rental realestate? Feel free to vent any other frustrations you've encountered in your experience, but please don't forget to answer my original question if you don't mind. Any and all additions from then on are much appreciated. You may respond by email if you so choose. To submit your experiences just use the following address - propertyresearchproject@gmail.com. Thank you very much for your valuable time and comments!

rental verification
if verifiying a residency of a tenant what questions should i ask to be sure of who im speaking with to make certain that it is the land lord that im talking to b/c not only do i want to make sure that the tenant im checking into is honest i want to make sure and verify the land lord so what exactly should i say to him/her

issued my tenant p&Q notice and they will move out
Tenants paid $100 on 1st then nothing. Sent P&Q notice,rent to be paid on 19th. Called to find out if they will pay or quit. Tenant said they will be out this weekend. Question do they still owe me the rest of the rent for Nov? Its like $600. The reason they're moving 'is because they can't afford to live in my place - Job problems & baby on the way. Should I file a case to try to get the money for the broken lease and what they owe for Nov? or should I chalk it up for lesson learned? I wasn't planning to rent the place anymore. Thanks!!!

Calling all Sacramento LLs
I have a tenant whose lease ends this month. I believe he has done quite a bit of damage to my rental property. Any Sacramento LLs know of a good contractor/estimator that I can have come and give an itemized quote for the damages so that I may deduct from my tenant's security deposit (he seems to think he's getting it back in full..ha!)?

Much appreciated. Thank you all!

Service Animals
Has anyone had experience with having to settle with Intermountain Housing Council? I had a call from "someone" wanting an apartment and stated they had a service animal. Obviously this was not a problem as I KNOW we allow service animals at all of our apartments. I was a little unsure about the pet deposit and said "possible pet deposit may apply" well we got a letter shortly afterwards regarding this call. It was a "tester" and apparently I failed their guidelines.
My question is how common is this? and what kind of settlements have been issued?

We had a trainer come out and make a presentation to us, he said they start high and work down on the settlement amount. I feel like there was discrimation against the small business owner. The settlement really hurt the business financially.

I do not want to say too much more here. but wondering what others experience has been?

sd
If I for some reason I agree with tenant do I have 30 days to refund the Security deposit. If a mailing confirmation of USPS is good or do I need to send it certified
Can someone tell me if I understand this:

) Unless the tenant objects to the imposition of the landlord's claim or the amount thereof within 15 days after receipt of the landlord's notice of intention to impose a claim, the landlord may then deduct the amount of his or her claim and shall remit the balance of the deposit to the tenant within 30 days after the date of the notice of intention to impose a claim for damages

Eviction Hearing - TODAY
I went to my first eviction hearing today (non payment of rent - no lawyer). I won a Judgement of Possession by default since my tenant did not show up.

I then filed for a Judgement of Possession Certification as well as a Warrant of Possession.

It's a good thing another LL was there who also won a judgement and knows the ins and outs already. She helped me on what other things I should do next since you will not get that information from the Office of the Special Civil Part Clerk unless you ask for it.

They were:
(1) The phone number of the court officer who would server the warrant.
(2) The form needed to sue for monies owned. Less than $3000 with SMALL CLAIMS COURT and > $3000 with the SPECIAL CIVIL COMPLAINT and SUMMONS (I'm owed $3400).

One thing I couldn't believe though is when the clerk told me to call the warrant officer AFTER November because it was already the holidays (Thanksgiving). By NJ law, I have to wait 3 business days before I contact the warrant officer. That means, I should be able to do so on the 25th (Wednesday). I don't like to sound so callous but this dead beat tenant of mine has been staying with me already for 3 months rent free - Unbelievable! So I'll still call the officer on the 25th for the warrant to be served.

Should I file to get money back now with the Special Civil Complaint Courts or wait until my tenant is out? If I get judgment here, does it get recorder in his credit report?

Thanks

Mice
The home has mice. I have had exterminators monthly, riddex blah blah blah. The only thing that settled the problem for me was a cat. If my tentant doesnt want a cat does anyone have any suggestions? sell the house? Its an end unit townhome.

Security over due!
I have tenant subsidized housing. She move in in January.I let her move in with agreement sign that security to be paid in 15 days. I have not gotten a penny. Later in February come to find she didnt turn in the key intil mid Janury and they wont pay me for January. Had to make new lease starting in February. This made her responsible for January rent and security deposit. We made a new agreement and she never paid a payment.Rent is paid in full every month. She is a decnt tenant. Her lease is expired in February. What should I or could I do.

I found new tenant; now current wants to renew!
I started renting out my townhouse in July to two college-aged friends. They have a 6 month lease. A couple months ago they told me they would be leaving at the end of the lease (January) because one of the tenants is moving in w/ her boyfriend and the other tenant can't afford it on her own.

Three weeks ago I started advertising to find a new tenant to move in in January. I found a potential one right away. Two weeks ago I confirmed with my current tenant that they still planned to move out and she said yes. I showed my townhouse to the potential tenant, who really liked it. All of a sudden my current tenant said she really wants to stay and is looking for a roommate. I checked with her a couple times and she still hadn't found one. On Monday the potential tentant told me she definitely wants the place starting in January when my current tenants move out, and will send me the deposit. Yesterday (Tuesday afternoon) I said great, you have a deal.

Last night (Tuesday night) my current tenant texted me and said she had found a roommate. She says the new roommate will sign a lease to start in January. I told her I'm sorry but the other woman had just told me that she wanted it for sure in January and I had said okay. My current tenant is very upset and wants to stay. I don't know what I can/should do now!

Pre-Screening Tenants
Not a question, just wanted to say thank goodness for the LPA's Pre-Screening Prospect Card!! I put it in my Craigslist rental ad this time and it has saved me so much time. Now if only I could get some inquiries from prospects who could actually pass the pre-screening...I hate trying to rent at this time of year.

On a funny note...one person who emailed an inquiry to my ad must have misread "Landlord Reference?" as "Landlord PREFERENCE?" and answered "I'd like a good landlord who is willing to work with me and my family in our time of need". Delete.

unauthorized occupants

I have a serious problem with a tenant who has added a child to her tenancy without any prior notification for authorization of the child's tenancy. When I interviewed her and reviewed the application she did not mention a child that would in any way become a tenant. Initially she had told me that she would be the only tenant if we accepted her application. We accepted her application but prior to accepting a security deposit I asked her about her daughter as listed on the application since she had not mentioned her previously. She let me know that her daughter was a college student in Houston and would feel much better if she were on the lease since she would spend some weekends, most holidays, and possibly summer months with her and did not want any problems with anyone questioning her visits. I had previously let her know that we did not rent to families with small children in the upstairs unit to avoid any noise tolerance problems (the upstairs unit has wooden floors in the central area where there is more traffic) with the tenants in the lower unit. I also let her know that our experience with previous tenants with small children was not positive and that the stairs alone could be a safety problem if children were to become unattended. She told me that this would not be problem since she would be the only tenant and occasional visits from her daughter. We had discussed small children as tenants because from prior experience some tenants have legal visiting/custodial rights on weekends, etc. One month after her tenancy began we noticed a small child (2-3 yrs old) playing outside with a young woman as we were working on the lower unit to get is ready for a new lease. Then the volume of noise from the child's running daily as we worked in the lower unit increased and then finally became intolerable when we were showing the unit to the prospective tenants. My husband went upstairs immediately and let her know that she needed to keep the noise down due to showing the unit. We had not said anything to her in the beginning since we thought someone was only visiting and then would be leaving soon. That soon never came and our new tenants in the lower unit moved in. The same day they moved in, I notice the child in the window of the upper unit and spoke with the tenant to ask why this child was visiting for such an extended period and that her lease required her to notify me of visitors staying over seven days, which I had not received. She stated her daughter had problems with her father in Houston and she left her father's home. She said that she did not have a choice but to let her move in with her. I told her that this did not explain the child and she stated that the child was her daughter's child. I let her know that the lease only included her and her daughter, two adults, and zero children, n0 children. I let her know that she was to have notified me of the extended visit by the child and that I had let her know prior to signing the lease that no children would be accepted into the unit for tenancy. I told her that she would need to correct this and that it would not be possible to add him to the lease since we had been experiencing the noise made by the child which would possibly not be tolerated by the new tenants. One week later the new tenants complained about the child jumping off furniture, running, bouncing a ball, skateboarding inside the unit which was driving them crazy. They let me know that they had gone upstairs to request that they keep the noise down, called the police twice, and spoken to the child's mother, besides calling us. I called the tenant in the upper unit to let the tenant know that the child's stay was not tolerable and not acceptable. She was very upset since she felt that I would expect her to throw out her daughter and child and if I wanted her to move. I let her know that she did not have to move but that the child could not live with her and if that meant that she needed to move out because her daughter and her child had to live with her then she needed to start making plans to move. I mailed an Unauthorized Tenant Violation form to give her a deadline to correct the problem or to vacate. I think I've given her enough time to correct the problem and everyone has reached their limits. That was almost two weeks ago and they are still in the unit, still making noise. I had let the tenants in the lower unit know the steps I had taken to correct the problem and they have been patient, hoping that the tenant above will move out soon because they really are happy with the unit itself. I'm afraid to loose my tenants in the lower unit and if they move out, the next tenants will have the same complaints. I need to know what to do next. I would greatly appreciate any advise that could help me to get these tenants in the upper unit out and off the property and if this causes the tenants in the lower unit to break the lease, what are my options regarding security deposits? The lease states that if the tenant violates any of the house rules that they will have to vacate the property upon notice of the violation and that they will lose their security deposit. The child has already torn out the window screen in one of the windows with his head as witnessed by the neighbor in the next property.

Sincere & desperate,

how much are the tenants responsible for repair?
What if put the words that "the tenants are responsible for the first $100 for each repair" on the residential rental lease? What is the maximum number about it? I get this deal from rental realtors.

mice issue
I lived there for 10 years before renting it out. I had never seen a single mice in this 8-unit residential condo building. The tenants report the mice issue, I had pest control export to identify and treat. My unit becomes the one and single unit is infested. The tenants want me to pay for her son's hospital expense and her hotel expense becuase she claims the mice bit her baby and she has to sleep in the hotel where her uncle works there. Is the landlord responsible for those expenses?

How often should LL do periodic check?
I am a new LL, and just join LPA as a member. I learn that LL can do the periodic check on the property. How often should the check be done? bi-weekly or monthly? If LL does the check alone, then what if the tenants complain their personal belongs are being missed?

Long Term Lease?
Potential tenant called and first asked if I was interested in a rent to own contract for our SFH. I told her no and then she asked how long of a lease I would allow?

In the past I have done a couple 2 year leases, with success. I like the long term commitment. She gave me the impression that they were looking for more than two years. I have an appointment to show the home to this family tomorrow.

Question is what is the longest lease term that you have done, heard of etc.? Are there underlying problems with long leases? If they qualify and are willing to sign for 5 years, yahoo! Is my instant reaction but a little caution light went on also. What does this forum think?

People's Court
I watched People Court today.

The judge awarded the landlord full replacement cost of new carpet. Never ask nor mentioned anything about the age of the previous carpet. It looked cleanish from the photos but it has pet urine smell.

Got $100 first of month - sent P&Qnotice
I probably will be offered a few hundred toward rent on the day the P&Q notice states full amt is due. Should I take it? and go to court to file eviction notice next day, because it wasn't full amt or should I not take it and tell them its full amt due or filing eviction notice.
If I don't take it and file for eviction and while we are waiting to go to court, the next months rent becomes due and they are able to come up with the balance of what they owe on rent from the previous month, but not the new amt for the newest month's rent, do I have to accept the balance of past rent and then start the whole thing over for the new months rent? I had talked to a lawyer and he said to take any $ I could get because he said its really hard to get $ in the courts in NC. Their lease ends next February. I will be giving them 3 months notice Dec 1st to find a new place. Any info anyone can give me is greatly appreciated!!! and definitely needed. Thanks.

mailing proof
I am sick of mailing a security deposit check by certified mail to tenant. They dont pick up. What other way I could use to have proof that I mail the check on time if I go to court. I dont want ex tenant (visiting) my house to pick up check

Va hospital involved
i just recently (1 mo. ago) rented to a new tenant who is in a wheelchair. the VA supports all of his needs and the VA wants to tear out my bathtub and install a handicap shower. This may not seem like such an issue but once he moves out, i have totential renters who want a tub again, and besides all that, he is refusing to pay some other obligations that were made on the day of the lease signing and as of this day , his rent goes unpaid,im seeing my attorney in 2 days to see what MY rights are,can anyone guess what my att. might advise me to do?
his attorney contacted me today and is trying to threaten me, that i HAVE to allow them to make changes in the apt.

Landlord evicting to "ensure" payment
I lived in a rental property in Arlington, TX and fulfilled my 12 month lease as of August 31, 2009. At that time, I informed the landlords (verbally) that I would do a month to month while looking for a new place to live. I also discussed w/them the possibility of holding off any rent due for the month until the end, in the event that I found a new place and needed the funds to move. In the same conversation, I asked if they would apply the security deposits to any amount owed for that month and bill me for the rest. The landlords agreed. In October, I found a new place to move and informed my landlords of that in an email, including the date that I would move. A few days later, I get a phone call from my landlords stating that they would file eviction to ensure payment. Ironically, the eviction date was set for the day that I was moving, and I was unable to attend. I tried reaching out to them by phone after learning of the date, but they would not answer nor return my phone calls. Needless to say, a default judgment was granted. What can I do to take care of this situation and officially remove this eviction from my record?

money judgement awarded, what is next step?
I received a money judgement last month. What do I do next?
I haven't done anything since receiving the judgement.

My old tenant has a good job. They do not have any assets. They might have some money in their bank account.

The clerk at the Georgia magistrate court gave me a Summons of Garnishment. Can I also file a Summons of Continuing Garnishment at same time?

Tenant Cashes Deposit Refund Check
If a tenant does not give 30 days notice as PA state requires, but landlord returns deposit (-) and deductions for damages and (-) a charge for early termination and the tenant cashes the check, does this mean the tenant agrees at the time or should they hold deposit payment if they want to recover full deposit?

Eviction Process - What am I missing?
So I have a hearing this week for non payment. I was going through the whole process and reading some legal stuff and summed up the ff. for NJ:

1. File eviction to get summons.
2. Go to Trial for [Judgment of Possession]
3. After Trial Day + 3 Business Days, apply for [Warrant of Possession] if tenant does not leave.
4. Court Officer gives tenant 3 business days to remove stuff.
5. After 3 business days upon serving of warrant, LL arranges with the Court Officer for tenant eviction/lockout.
6. Following eviction, LL must let the tenant remove stuff from the unit (or remove it myself?).
7. LL must return the security deposit or settlement within 30 days from the date the tenant moves out of the unit.

Am I missing something here? How do I actually try to get monies owned to me? I know I have to file a claim with Small Claims but when would that be?

Thanks

Rent
My nzame is jennifer. My roomates want us to give them more money every month. We pay our rent on time, now they want us to give them more money for last month, more money this month. If wre dont give them more 164.00 more . this month they want us out the house. Is it legal for them to do that to us?

Adjoining fences; whose fence is it?
Our group just purchased a home thats backyard adjoins five properties. Its fence appears to be ours.
The wood privacy fence is rotten and needs replacing. Our three options are too;
1. Put up another wood fence ($$$) and see if others want to help pay for it.
2. Remove it and put nothing back up
3. Put up a chain link fence ($)
The neighbors would not like options 2 or 3.
Is there a form that I should have them sign that clarifies that the fence is ours?

normal repainting practice
We have some tenants who just moved in and want to repaint 3 bedrooms and a living room. They asked if they could do touch ups and so we gave them our leftover paint, but now they want to redo all 4 of these rooms. We just repainted the whole apartment a year and a half ago, and touched up last spring - we can't afford another round of paint, even if they paint it. What is the usual protocol for things like this? Do you repaint in between every renter?

Thanks!

water bill
i have a two unit apartment and so far this month i have not received any rents which are at least one week late, and i have reason to believe they will not be paying any time soon. My quarterly water bill is due and since i have gotten no rents, my funds are low and i cant afford to pay the water bill. is it legal for me to let the city shut off the water?

CAN I fight FEMA?
I have a SF rental home that is located near Galveston, TX. It sustained roof damage during Hurricane Ike. We are currently in litigation with our ins. company since they have not given us what we need to reroof (this has dragged on for a year now). In the meantime, roof is deteriorating and we have tenants under FEMA program in the house. They have turned out to be PITA tenants and have been screaming about wanting to get out of their lease ( they signed an 18 mo. lease-shame on us for agreeing to that!) but we have always fixed every little thing and have been very attentive to them. The last straw is now the tenant is complaining about mold in a closet. I remediated some mold in the ceiling of a closet 6 mos. ago. She told me a month ago--there was mold in bathroom--turns out it was discolored tub caulking. We replaced. In the meantime the closet mod has returned.
She evidently took photos and sent in to local FEMA--they did an "emergency" inspections the next day. Of course, we were not notiified of this until a week later and they send us a letter saying house is in abatement until repairs--no explanation. I have to call them to get any info. They accused me of lying when I said I never got anything in writing from tenants about this problem and said that it was an "exstensive" mold problem. I requested copies of the photos as I never saw an "extensive" mold problem when I was there and we had already tried to remediate it. )Tenant has never sent me anything in writing, ever!). I went out with contractor to replace the sheetrock in closet and in bathroom. We have spent 2500 so far in remediating things to stay in good standing with FEMA and I am sick and tired of this!!!!
Main problem is: tenant said FEMA was finding them another place to live and she gave me a 30 day notice to move (the only thing she has ever given me in writing) but FEMA will not pay for this month's rent and she refuses to pay her portion of the rent she is supposed to pay--350 plus late fees. FEMA folks just say--do what you have to do--to collect their portion of the rent and they never return any of my calls.
I sent tenant notice to pay or quit last week and she has had car parked in front yard forever and it has killed the grass and she has been very verbally abusive to me and my husband when we have gone to the property and on the phone
(lease violatons). I want to start eviction proceedings but there is a clause in the FEMA agreement that says we cannot evict due to non-payment of tenant's portion of the rent. Even though she said she is leaving at end of the month, she has lied to me so many times and FEMA will always stand behind the tenants--what recourse do I have to get these leaches out of my property? We cannot afford a new roof right now and we just put a tarp on roof over closet area.
Would you try to evict nonetheless or do you think we stand a chance in court?

deposit returns
My question is in the state of Oklahoma can I use a contractor's estimates to close the deposit account of a past renter. In the case of pursuing additional damages how will this apply.
thanks, this is a great site wish I would have found it a couple years ago

water pouring in :(
Water is pouring in my second floor unit. We had a horrible day of rain. This unit has had some past water issues which we fixed but today was miserable for the tenant and us. We're headed out tomorrow to try again to fix and get a contractor out. Part of the wall was rotted. The tenant is now upset there may be mold and said her son is asthmatic. So, now I'm pretty much freaking. As far as I know there is no mold, yes a rotted wall but it will be replaced. The whole unit is new and was renovated in the spring. We bought and rehabbed it.

Other than isolating the water leaks and fixing the wall, what is my responsibilty here? She said her mattress got soaked!? Although we haven't seen it.

Lawyer wants more money for 2nd part of eviction
The second part of the eviction is for damages. I won the eviction and got the tenants out. I paid the lawyer $350 and was under the impression this would take care of the entire eviction process. I get a letter from my lawyer that she wants an additional $100 to get a default judgment on the other tenant on the lease or she can continue the lawsuit and do a judgment on both tenants for damages and this would cost an additional $500 for a retainer fee and an additional $135 hourly rate.

I thought the $350 I paid in the beginning for the eviction would cover the eviction and the 2nd cause for damages.

I just want those two tenants' credits ruined since they hurt me and owe me money for rent and damages. I want to be able to file a Certificate of Judgment and I want it on their credit. These tenants don't deserve any good credit after they messed me over and owe me for rent and damages.

Is it legal for my attorney to charge more on this eviction when I already paid $350, thinking that $350 would take care of the entire eviction process?

Squatters' Rights in PA???
Wow! Last night around 1am we got a call from a tenant about the neighbors fighting. The police were called and it turned out to be a domestic incident. My husband went down to the building. The woman was our tenant, and her boyfriend beat her up. BUT because the boyfriend said he had been living there with her over 30 days (we never OK'd this and she is the only one on the lease) the police would not make him leave unless she pressed charges. And if we wanted this dangerous man off our property we have to file a 30 day notice to quit (if he was on our lease we'd actually have more rights since our lease contains a waiver of the notice to quit.) We were told this by a rather arrogant cop on the scene, not by a the magistrate.

Is this true? Can just anybody become your "tenant" with the full protections of the law by sneaking into your unit? Wow.

Our tenant filed a PFA against Chris Brown and the police lead him off our property this morning. We still handed him a 30 day eviction notice just in case.

law on 10% limit on late fee
I let a tennent move in with agreement to he would pay the deposit amount over a 3 month period. (silly me)
The lease states amounts to be charged as late fees.
Does the NM law limiting 10% on rent payments apply to other amounts owed or just the rent.

Section 8 and Rent Control
Recently at my apartment association in Santa Monica I heard the following:

A judge in california decided that Rent Control supersedes section - 8 contracts.

So that if you want to stop renting to section - 8 then the rent control of that unit still remains at the rate.

HELP international student tenants
How do you screen people without a social security number? Who are in the US on a Student Visa???
Please answer ASAP

Late Charges

I rent a mobile home for $550.00 per month. What would be a basic late charge and a fair late charge after the stated 4/5 day period?

pay or quit notice
Hello. I sent a tenant a 5 day pay or quit notice for unpaid rent. I want to start eviction process after the time is up and I didnt receive any money. But what happens if he didnt pick up the certified mail? So far I got no notification that he received the mail, I guess he knows whats coming and just dont pick the mail up. Can I go on with the eviction when he never received it(maybe on purpose)??? Thanks for any advice.

security deposit
Is it acceptable to require an applicant to pay up the security deposit due on rental a few days after they have been notified that were approved? I have an applicant who i approved and I told her that she had to provide the security deposit within a week. Initially, she was OK with it, but she just called me (on the day we were supposed to meet to collect the depost) and told me that the SEC 8 office told her that I can only collect the deposit when she moves in, which is 2 months a way from now. This is crazy. SEC 8 has nothing to do with the security deposit.

Last Month's Deposit and Proper Notice to Show
Month to month tenants who have been properly given notice to vacate and are willing to do so.

Tenants paid first and last month's rent AND security deposit.

Tenants intend to vacate end of November 2009.

Tenants paid November's rent twice (once when they first moved in and once on Nov 1st)

Tenant's want last month rent back in mid-Nov. Argument is since they've paid it on the first of November and as last month's rent - they want it back now and not at the end of the month of November when they intend to move.

Landlord's argument to refund end of November is - how does landlord know November is really the last month they'll move out? What if they don't (as agreed) and stay in December and decide to sqwat landlord and call December as they're 'last month' that was pre-paid.

Landlord will refund last month's rent for November when home is vacated on or before Nov 30th.

Is Landlord correct?