In the rental world, there will always be the tenants that have disabilities. If either you or your management company mishandles tenants who have special needs, you could see yourself in a legal battle, or lose a lot of money on your property. You've got to be both professional and cautious as you care for your properties and your tenants.
Screening Your Tenants
A background check will be your best friend when it comes to choosing your next tenant. You can reject applications from those who have a criminal history, or those who have been evicted from a previous rental. You can also do a credit and income check, to make sure you will be getting the payments each month, instead of opening the door to a squatter.
However, in order to comply with the law, you cannot ask questions or make suggestions that would indicate discrimination, such as only allowing tenants to rent units in a specific part of the building (away from other renters) or asking any questions regarding medical history. Basically you should treat any potential tenant in the same way, and run the applications in the same manner.
Special Tenant Needs
However, because of the Fair Housing Act and Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), you have to make sure that you are being fair with your application process. Landlords and property management companies are not permitted to discriminate based on race, religion, age, or special needs. Some provisions need to be made for:
1. Service animals. For example, if your applicant has a service dog, but your apartment has a no pets policy, you are still obligated to rent to this individual, because, under the law, the animal is not technically a pet. If a current tenant needs a service animal, you have no grounds for eviction, and should not try to find another reason to make them move that would put you in a vulnerable legal situation.
Because it is not right to ask for medical history, you, as a landlord, cannot require a doctor's note or registration notice for a service animal. This would be a violation of the ADA.
You might be tempted to charge an extra fee for those who must bring animals with them into the apartment. Legally, you cannot do so. However, the tenant is still under responsibility to keep the property undamaged. If, upon inspection, the apartment has not been maintained, you can deduct funds their damage deposit.
2. Tenants with special needs. If one of your tenants suffers from a disability, you must allow some reasonable changes to be made to the property to accommodate the disability. For example, a tenant with decreased mobility may need to use a wheelchair to get around. If door openings are too narrow in the apartment, you should allow those doors to be modified. But, it's important to note that you may not have to pay for property changes; you just simply must allow them, within reason.
You should also be willing to make some small changes in the property and agreement as the tenant needs. For example, a wheelchair-bound tenant may need a reserved parking space near their apartment. A tenant that is deaf may need to have a third party call with maintenance requests.
3. Mental disabilities. If you notice that a prospective tenant has a mental disability, even if that disability seems to make them more dangerous and unpredictable, you still have to provide accommodation to the individual if they meet all the requirements of an ideal rental applicant (necessary income, clean record etc.).
Renting an apartment can be a profitable and rewarding business. However, when it comes to special needs and disabilities, you need to make sure that you are following the law exactly, in order to protect yourself, your property, and your tenants.
Share12 November 2014
Once I paid of the mortgage on my house, I decided I wanted to buy an investment property. I had no idea that the buying process would be different, but it really was. There were so many things to consider that I hadn't thought about, and even the loan application process was different. It occurred to me that if I didn't know about it, others likely didn't either. I built this site to help others see what I went through buying my first investment home. I hope that it helps you to approach the process with more confidence and understanding.
