Don’t have a property manager? 12 Times a Landlord Can Sue a Tenant

Legal Reasons to Go to Court.

Conflicts between landlords and tenants cannot always be easily worked out. Sometimes, the only way to resolve the issue is in court. There are many times a landlord has a legal right to sue their tenant. Here are twelve reasons a landlord can bring a tenant to court. 

Why Would a Landlord Sue a Tenant

Filing a lawsuit against anyone can be a stressful experience, but it does have certain advantages.

• Tenant Could Settle to Avoid Court: The first advantage, and the one many people hope for when filing a lawsuit, is that the case will never actually go to court. The hope is that, after receiving the court summons, the tenant will want to avoid the hassle of going to court and potentially losing anyway. They would rather pay the amount the landlord is requesting or compromise on paying a lesser amount that the landlord agrees to accept. This would also keep the tenant’s name off the court records.
• Recover Money Owed: Sometimes taking a tenant to court is the only way to receive the money you are owed from the tenant. If a tenant does not believe they are responsible for paying for damages at the property, it can be very difficult to get them to pay the money unless they are legally obligated to do so.
• Receive Additional Damages: In court, you can sue the tenant for the actual money you are owed, but also for additional damages. For example, if a tenant breaks their lease and moves out early, you can sue them for the rent that is due for the remainder of the lease and potentially the costs associated with finding a new tenant to fill the vacancy.
• Clear Your Name: Suing your tenant and winning will provide legal proof that you were in the right.
• The Case Will Be on Record: You will have a record that you won a court case against your tenant. This can be beneficial if the tenant ever tries to sue you at some point in the future. A victory will also show that you are a landlord who follows the law and knows the proper procedures and practices for running a rental property.

Risks of Taking a Tenant to Court

There are advantages to suing your tenant, but a landlord must also understand the risks involved. There is no guarantee of victory and you could trigger a counterclaim from your tenant.

• You Could Lose: Filing a lawsuit is not a guarantee that you will win the lawsuit. You could spend your time, energy and money going to court and still lose.
• Could Win, But Never See the Money: You could be awarded the money owed to you by the court, but you may never actually collect this money. Although the tenant will now have a judgment against them, you could be trying to chase the tenant down for years to collect the money you are owed.
• Cost: Whether you win or lose, there will still be costs involved with going to court. You will have to pay a court fee just to file your case. This fee varies widely by jurisdiction. Depending on the nature of your case, you may also have to hire an attorney to represent you, which can get very expensive very quickly.
• Tenant Could Countersue: By initiating a lawsuit, you could anger your tenant, leading them to countersue. You could wind up losing the lawsuit and then have to pay even more money to the tenant in damages and attorney’s fees.

Is Suing the Only Option?

Instead of filing a lawsuit, a landlord can send a demand letter to the tenant in the hopes that it will be enough to get the tenant to pay what they owe. This letter may be intimidating enough to avoid a court battle. A landlord can also decide to do nothing and chalk up any losses as a learning experience.

12 Reasons You Can Sue Your Tenant

There are endless reasons that you can take a tenant to court. Some of the more common reasons a landlord can sue a tenant include:

1. Unpaid Rent: If a tenant has not paid their monthly rent, you can first send them a notice to pay rent or quit. If that does not work, you can file to evict the tenant. At the same time, you can also sue them for any rent they owe.
2. Unpaid Utility Bills: If there are any outstanding utility bills at the rental property in the tenant’s name, you can sue the tenant to recover this money. Often, you can deduct this amount from the tenant’s security deposit. If the security deposit is not enough to cover the expense, you can sue in small claims court to recover the rest.
3. Damage to the Property: A landlord can sue a tenant if the tenant has caused damage to the property. Again, you can start by deducting the amount of damage from the security deposit. If the security deposit does not cover the amount of damage done, you can take your tenant to court to hopefully get the rest of the money you are owed.
4. Unapproved Alterations to the Unit: If the tenant has made changes to the unit without approval, you can sue the tenant to recover the money it will take to restore the unit to its original condition.
5. Tenant Owes More Than Security Deposit Amount: If you have taken the maximum amount of deductions from the tenant’s security deposit, but they still owe more, you can try to recover the rest in small claims court.
6. Countersue for Security Deposit: A tenant may sue if they believe you wrongly withheld their security deposit. In this case, you can countersue to show you had every legal right to withhold or make deductions from their deposit.
7. To Recover Lost Rent From an Illegal Move Out: If the tenant moved out before their lease was actually up, you can take them to court to recover the rent they owed for the remaining time on their lease.
8. To Recover Costs to Find a New Tenant After Illegal Move Out: Some states will also allow you to pursue a tenant who has moved out early for the additional expenses you may incur trying to find a new tenant for the unit. This could include things like marketing costs and utilities.
9. Expenses to Dispose of Tenant’s Abandoned Property: You can sue a tenant for the cost to dispose of or to store their abandoned property.
10. Tenant Used the Property for Illegal Dealings: If a tenant used the property for some illegal means, you can sue them to recover damages.
11. Illegally Have a Pet: If you have a no pets policy and you find out the tenant has an animal, you can sue them for damages and for any additional damage the pet has caused at the property.
12. Other Breaches to the Lease Agreement: If the tenant has broken any other clause of the lease and it has caused you monetary, emotional or physical harm, taking the tenant to court could be the way to collect the money owed to you.

Source: liveaboutdotcom

Disclaimer: Nothing contained on this website constitutes tax, legal, insurance or investment advice, nor does it constitute a solicitation or an offer to buy or sell any security or other financial instrument. AAOA recommends you consult with a financial advisor, tax specialist, attorney or other specialist who is able to properly advise you.

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7 Predictions For The 2024 Rental Market

By John Triplett  -December 12, 2023

Here are 7 predictions for where the rental market is headed in 2024 from the economists at Apartment List as the once red-hot rental market of previous years has now cooled.

Here is a key topline summary for 2024:

• 2024 will be the strongest year for new apartment construction in decades, giving renters more options and better opportunities to negotiate price and lease terms.
• “We expect that year-over-year rent growth will crawl out of negative territory next year, but that it won’t rise above the low single-digits.”
• Even though mortgage rates are expected to ease modestly, home prices will remain prohibitively high and continue to create more long-term renters.

No. 1 – 2024 will bring the most new apartments in decades

Construction data from the Census Bureau suggests that multifamily supply growth should remain strong through 2024. The number of new multifamily apartment units under construction hit one million for the first time ever in 2023, and completions are expected to peak in 2024. With so many units in the construction pipeline, 2024 should be the strongest year for new multifamily supply since the 1980s.

No. 2 – Low single-digit rent growth in 2024

2023 is set to have the second slowest rent growth of any year in the history of our estimates (going back to 2017), coming ahead of only 2020. Looking ahead to 2024, “we expect demand to bounce back slightly, but remain on the soft side. The labor market remains fairly strong and there is likely some pent-up demand for new household formation. However, affordability continues to be a major concern and sentiment data shows that Americans still lack confidence in the economy. Even in the most bullish scenario, it’s unlikely that demand will be strong enough to outstrip all of the new supply that we know is coming, likely resulting in our vacancy index rising modestly from its current level in 2024. We expect that rent growth will rise out of negative territory early next year, but that it won’t get above the low single digits in 2024.”

No. 3- The changing rent vs. buy math will create more long-term renters

Many families are remaining renters longer than they may have in the past. Even those who can afford to buy in today’s market may find that renting now actually makes more financial sense. Although most Americans still aspire to own homes, more are now finding themselves renting later in life, and that trend is likely to continue. Consensus expectations are that mortgage rates will ease modestly next year, but likely not enough to significantly alter the prevailing dynamics of the for-sale market. As paths to homeownership fade for many, renting will increasingly be seen as the more practical housing option.

No. 4- Hybrid work will cement itself as the new norm for office jobs

In 2023, the remote work narrative focused on return-to-office plans, but this focus obscures the fact the pendulum will never swing fully back to the pre-pandemic norm. According to the latest estimates, 28 percent of all work days are still from home, and that figure appears to be stabilizing at that level. 42 percent of American workers currently have some form of remote work flexibility, and hybrid arrangements are much more common than fully remote ones. The data shows that hybrid work is here to stay, driving demand for rentals that provide spaces and amenities that blend work and home life for today’s flexible workforce.

No. 5- Sun Belt markets will see more renters, but not necessarily higher rents

The nation’s fastest population growth in recent years has been taking place throughout the Sun Belt. But in many cases, Sun Belt markets have also been among the most accommodating of growth, allowing for new housing development to meet the growing demand. The key takeaway: fast-growing Sun Belt markets will continue to be renter magnets, but rent growth should be kept in check thanks to lots multifamily development.

No. 6- As the economy takes center stage in the presidential election, candidates will need to speak to housing concerns

As we head into a presidential election year, the question of whether the economy is good or bad has proven to be surprisingly complicated. Most of the key indicators of economic health are looking quite strong, but economic sentiment surveys show that confidence and satisfaction in the economy remain weak. It’s likely that at least some of this disconnect is being driven by waning housing affordability. As the election cycle continues to ramp up, candidates on both sides of the aisle will need to articulate housing plans and speak to what has become one of the most pressing concerns of the American electorate. 2024 could be the year where housing rises to the forefront of the political discourse.

No. 7- More renters will use AI in their searches

“We expect 2024 to bring a new wave of AI-powered tools specifically for renters. It will soon become commonplace for renters to use AI in their apartment searches to search, compare, and coordinate actions. It will take time for these advancements to change macro market dynamics, but the next high-demand rental market cycle may look quite different with new power in renter’s pockets. And as adoption of AI-enabled rental search tools accelerates into 2024, both renters and property managers can seize opportunities from this new technological frontier.”

Conclusion

“2024 is certain to bring twists and turns no model can predict, as the new year always does. But we hope that by forewarning of what’s foreseeable—from new supply waves to persistent homeownership headwinds bolstering rental demand—we can help you prepare for what is ahead.”

About the Apartment List research team:

The Apartment List Research Team is a small group of economists and analysts dedicated to understanding the rental market as it evolves rapidly. “On our blog we publish original research reports and offer robust data products for public use.”

7 Predictions For The 2024 Rental Market