Checklist for Landlords
We all well know by now that the area of Landlord and Tenant law has been trending in favor of the Tenants. With that said, it is important to take a hard look at your operations, make sure you are compliant with the current requirements and make any necessary changes to make your life easier. Here are a few things you should consider:
1.) Do you have a written lease? Especially with Good Cause Eviction in the City of Rochester, it is important to have a written lease that spells out all of the rules of the tenancy.
2.) Did you provide the tenant with the Good Cause Eviction Law Notice with the lease? The Good Cause Eviction Law requires that a notice be provided with the lease agreement.
3.) Are you providing tenants with written receipts for rent? The law requires you to provide receipts. It is also a good idea to save the copies of these receipts for your records.
4.) Are you keeping a ledger? It is important to keep a ledger of rents. If you commence a non-payment eviction against a tenant it is your obligation to prove that rents were not paid. The tenant’s attorneys will always ask for a written ledger that have a history of the rents paid. It is also a tool we can use in Court to show that rents have not been paid.
5.) Are you sending 5-Day Late Rent Notices? The Real Property Law states that a landlord is required to provide a tenant notice by certified mail if a tenant is more than 5 days late with rent. The law also states that failure by a landlord to provide the notice may be used as an affirmative defense by the tenant. These notices should be sent every month where rent is overdue and you should keep the mailing receipts. Please note this is different than the 14-day notices.
6.) Do you have a valid Certificate of Occupancy? The City of Rochester requires that landlords have a certificate of occupancy on buildings they will rent to tenants. It is important to fix any violations cited by Code Enforcement as those violations can come back to hurt you in an eviction proceeding.
7.) Do you have an LLC for your property? If you haven’t already, I encourage you to strongly consider putting your property in the name of one or more LLCs. LLCs help to hide your properties from your individual creditors. They also help keep your personal assets safe in the event of a slip and fall on your property. They can also be helpful in providing a succession plan for the management of your property if something happens to you.
If you need any further clarification on any of the above, feel free to reach out.
