According to a recent Zillow press release, an overwhelming amount of tenants and even landlords have vast misconceptions about current laws in place to protect both parties. It's always important for anyone to understand their rights when it comes to entering into a contract, real estate or otherwise. The results of this Zillow Rentals Survey is a bit shocking.
A whopping 82% of tenants and 76% of landlords have a misunderstanding of laws on security deposits, credit and background checks.
Landlords and tenants alike reported in the survey they believed a landlord had up to 60 days to return a security deposit, either in full or itemized for damages and return the remaining balance. But in actuality, a landlord has 14-30 days to do so.
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62% of tenants and 50% of landlords were not clear on laws around early lease termination.
The misconception being that a landlord has a right to terminate a lease early in order to rent out the property to a friend, family member or to another party for a higher lease fee. A landlord may not terminate a lease before it expires on any of the above mentioned grounds.
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The vast expanse of these misconceptions from both parties is a recipe for legal action and disputes. Knowing your tenant and landlord rights is crucial when entering into a lease contract.
When it comes to background checks one of the most common misconceptions is that a landlord has the right to refuse to rent to someone with a prior conviction of illegal drug use. Landlords do have the right to refuse a lease to someone with certain criminal convictions or the sale of illegal drugs, but not for previous (convicted) useage alone.
But it's not all bad news, landlord and tenants surveyed seemed to know the most about discriminatory advertising for rentals, requirements around terminating month-to-month rentals and responsibilty for repairs and maintenance.
So if you currently rent, currently have tenants or have plans to rent or become a landlord, be sure to brush up on your local tenant/landlord laws. It could potentionally save you money, time and headache in the future.