Legal Q & A

Are property managers liable when they fail to fulfill client requests? We had our property manager listed as the real estate agent when we decided to sell. It turns out the property was in terrible shape from the last renters. He kept this information from us. Can we hold him liable for not making the house ready for viewing when he told us it was?

Sounds like you ran into a conflict of interest from the get go! In his role as a real estate agent or broker, he certainly had a responsibility to ge...

Do property managers pay bills out of pocket? “Do property managers pay bills out of pocket and then get refunded by keeping additional rents when sending money to the landlord? Or do they have access to landlords’ bank accounts and pay vendors directly from there? How does the billing between manager and landlord normally work?”

Real estate is relatively lightly regulated when it comes to the structure of contracts between landlords and the people they hire to manage their pro...

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 damag...

Are property managers liable when they fail to fulfill client requests? We had our property manager listed as the real estate agent when we decided to sell. It turns out the property was in terrible shape from the last renters. He kept this information from us. Can we hold him liable for not making the house ready for viewing when he told us it was?

Sounds like you ran into a conflict of interest from the get go! In his role as a real estate agent or broker, he certainly had a responsibility to ge...

Can a landlord legally continue to collect rent & allow tenancy in CA if he becomes aware of code violations in the rental? What can happen to the Landlord/tenant if tenancy continues?

In California, habitability includes the following specific warranties: A dwelling also may be considered uninhabitable (unlivable) if it substantial...

Is a property manager's fee contingent on rent collection?

The answer, of course, depends on the contract that you have in place with the property manager. There are a few different ways you can skin that cat...

My landlord, who frequently travels to Japan, just selected a tenant to be the property manager. Can the owner ask me and the other tenants to put the rent money orders in the new property manager’s name, without the property manager being on any of the tenants’ leases?

In most cases, this is not a problem. Landlords frequently hire property managers to act on their behalf and take all manner of actions, including col...

Can property managers authorize emergency repairs without notifying the owner?

That's a great question that can usually be answered by a close reading of your contract with the property management company. Since no contract can a...