What recourse do landlords have for property manager conflicts of interest? My property manager sold my tenant a new home. They wanted to break the lease three months early. The property manager re-rented the house for another 12 months without contacting me. He contacted me after he sold them a home and re-rented my home. The new tenant has pets. I informed him that I had no intention of re-renting the home and I did not approve a pet. He cancelled the lease with the new tenant. I am out three months rent. What is my recourse?
Too bad your property manager, through carelessness, incompetence, or just plain poor ethics messed things up for you.
Fortunately, determining damages in this case should be pretty easy, and limited to the three months’ rent plus court/collection expenses.
Now let’s dive into the details.
It seems fair to assume that you were dealing with a property management firm that was itself headed by a licensed broker – or at least had a licensed broker supervising the operations. That is, someone who was legally operating as a property manager in the state of New Mexico.
Assuming that’s true, and you were paying a fee to the manager, that manager owes you, the principal, a fiduciary duty to look after your best interests. The role of a fiduciary demands the highest level of loyalty, care and fair dealing recognized under the law. As long as you have them under retainer as your property manager, and you’re paying your fees and upholding your end of the bargain, that manager must look after your interests first, and may not make side deals or do any business that must come at your expense.
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