As a real estate investor and renting to tenants, it is important that you know the paperwork, laws, and regulations that govern the way you do business. The regulations established by each governing agency provide guidance on what necessary disclosures should be made to each tenant who moves into one of their properties. Ignorance of the law is no excuse and if you do it incorrectly you can find yourself in many legal and financial problems.

There are different disclosures for different areas, but there are some that apply across the country. We will discuss these below:

Hazardous Materials Notice

This is not required in all municipalities, but it is common in California. Informs tenants of any hazardous materials that may have been used in the construction or rehabilitation of the property.

Lead Based Disclosures

This is a federal disclosure and must be disclosed to tenants. To comply with this disclosure, you need to know when your home was built, specifically prior to 1978. If your home was built prior to 1978, you will need to provide a brochure provided on the federal governments website stating that your home has been exposed to lead. paint. You will also need tenants to sign the form stating that they know there may be lead-based paint in the home.

Mold notification

Mold has received a lot of attention lately and can cause a great liability to homeowners. You can get mold disclosures at many landlord form sites scattered across the Internet.

In many cases, these notifications do not necessarily mean that there is a problem with your home or unit. It is simply informing the tenant and complying with federal, state, and local laws governing notifications and disclosures.

Roommate amendendum

This really comes into play for us since we live in a college town. The person signing the lease does not abide by the terms of the lease and the roommate claims to be ignorant of the whole situation. This amendment makes the roommate liable for damage to the property and the lease. It is important to know who lives on your property. I always get a list of all the people who will be the person’s roommates and ask them to sign the lease as well.

Pet Ammendum

This amendment is very important if you decide to allow pets on your rental property. Allowing pets can be a niche market, as many do not allow it. We have specific units that allow pets. These units typically have hardwood floors, so we don’t have to worry about pets destroying the carpet. Be aware that pets can also destroy laminate flooring. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you have hardwood flooring in a unit when you actually have laminate flooring. Damaged laminate flooring from pets can often be worse than the damage they cause to carpet. Also be careful about the type of pet you allow on the property. If a tenant has an aggressive pet that bites someone, you could be held liable. Be sure to clearly state what type of pet they are allowed and be very specific. If you allow pets, it is a good idea to request an additional deposit for the property. Pets can cause a lot of damage to property, as we have learned over the years. Cats in particular, if not cleaned afterwards, can leave an odor that is very difficult to remove, especially on the carpet.