Professional property managers balance maximizing landlord profits with serving as the primary point of contact for tenants and building vendors. Our property management attorneys work with managers of commercial, residential and multifamily, short-term vacation rentals, hotels and homeowners’ associations.
The state and federal rules that govern the management of tenancies are complex and frequently change. We help ensure that property managers stay current on their legal responsibilities and have the tools and legal support they need to effectively do their jobs.
The Business of Property Management
Like any venture, property management firms need sound business and legal advisors to guide their companies to success. Our work in this area includes:
- Entity formation
- Negotiation of property management agreements
- Tax strategies
- Insurance and liability, including insurance recovery
- Vendor and commercial contracts
- Agency licensing and ethics issues
- Staffing and employment law
- Independent contractor agreements
- Disputes with landlords, tenants and vendors
Support for Commercial Tenant Management
In addition, our property management attorneys provide ongoing training and legal support, including transactional, regulatory and dispute resolution services related to:
- Policies and procedures for commercial and residential fair housing act and local discrimination law compliance
- Manager training regarding federal and state Fair Housing Act compliance
- Legally compliant marketing and advertising
- Tenant applications, background checks and credit checks
- Rent collection issues
- Prevention and defense of mold and bed bug claims
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) issues
- Complaints for possession, wrongful detainers and other eviction proceedings
- Enforcement of lease terms and conditions, including issues of occupancy, maintenance and tax credit/HCV compliance
- Defense of claims brought by tenants, former tenants and trespassers
- Wrongful detainer
- Eviction notices and litigation
- Failure-to-pay and pay-or-quit notices
Failure-to-Pay and Pay-or-Quit Proceedings
We process thousands of cases monthly for residential and commercial failure-to-pay rent suits, filing electronically where authorized and making nearly daily court appearances to expedite our clients’ ability to collect overdue rent. We file breach-of-lease and hold-over cases and prepare the required notices (bilingual when required) before the suit for possession is filed. As these cases progress, we see them through to the actual eviction of the tenant and assist in collection of amounts due from dispossessed tenants, providing a complete strategy and cost-effective approach from beginning to end.
