Property Management Blog

In the world of real estate, there’s not much that is more misunderstood, unregulated or without “standards” to offer the consumer, than rental property deposits.  Many people believe that the Division of Real Estate or the local Realtor Board governs or enforces 

how deposits are handled.  This is not true.  I'll say it again, this is not true. Since there is no governing board managing the refund or handling of deposits, there is only one route when disagreements arise: Small Claims Court.

As a Landlord, it is my job to protect the value of the property.  Part of that responsibility is to do a very thorough inspection upon move-out.  Therefore, it is your responsibility, as the tenant, to safeguard your deposit.  

Here are 5 ways to protect your deposit:

1. Do a great move in inspection.  

 The best inspections have pictures with detailed labels under them.  Videos don't work because judges don't like them, and most of the time they are not as clear.

 Don't move anything into the home until you spend a few hours in the property taking lots of good pictures.  Some of the best inspections I have seen are done by home inspectors hired by residents. This may cost a little more upfront, but can save you thousands upon move-out.

2. Do the required maintenance for the property throughout your stay in the home. Single family homes require more maintenance during your stay than apartments.

Some of the landlords may have heard of The Servicemember Civil Relief Act (SCRA) (http://www.justice.gov/crt/spec_topics/military/scratext.pdf) .  Among other things, this piece of federal legislation allows the people who are covered and receive certain military orders to terminate their residential leases early without penalty. 

 

Who is covered under the SCRA? 

The SCRA applies to a member of the uniformed services, i.e. the four branches of the military plus the Coast Guard. It also applies to Reservists, a member of the National Guard who serve for more than 30 consecutive days and to a person who enlists in the military. 

Permanent change of Station or Deployment

The purpose of the SCRA is to allow members of the military to focus on fighting for our country and to not have to worry about events back home. Accordingly, the SCRA only applies to military orders for a deployment of 90 days or more of orders for a permanent change of station. The military even provides a link (https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/appj/scra/) for landlords to check to see if someone is active duty in the military. 

Procedure for cancelling the lease

A member of the armed services can cancel a lease that they signed by delivering 1) written notice to the landlord and 2) a copy of the military orders. The servicemember regularly pays rent the next time it is due and is then released from the lease 30 days after that payment. While the landlord cannot charge an early termination fee, all the other regular charges that are due on the lease need to be paid.

 

In summary, if a member of the military gets orders to deploy or for a permanent change of station, after they give you written notice and a copy of the orders, they will then be able to lawfully terminate the lease.

Here http://www.military.com/benefits/military-legal-matters/scra/scra-lease-termination-provisions.html?comp=7000023431425&rank=5 is a link that further explains about the provisions of the SCRA.

Las Vegas Property management Habitability law

The habitability of a property determines whether or not that property is rentable to a new applicant or livable to a current resident. The definition of the habitability of a property is defined in law and to non-professionals can be confusing or understood wrong, this post is an attempt to provide information regarding habitability based on Nevada law NRS 118A.290 

Turn Key Property Solutions and any employees are not attorneys nor do we give legal advice and we always suggest that seek legal advice.  

NRS 118A.290 Habitability of dwelling unit.

      1. The landlord is responsible to maintain the dwelling unit in a habitable condition. A ​unit must follow housing or health codes concerning the health, safety, sanitation or fitness for habitation of the ​property or cannot​ lack:

      (a) Protection from water and weather intrusion on all outside walls and roof

      (b) Plumbing systems that met local codes when installed and are maintained in good working order. 

      (c) ​Hot and cold running water furnished to appropriate fixtures and existence of an approved sewage disposal system​

      (d) Adequate heating facilities which conformed to applicable law when installed and are maintained in good working order.

      (e) Electrical lighting, outlets, wiring and electrical equipment which conformed to applicable law when installed and are maintained in good working order.

      (f) ​Disposal service furnished by landlord or resident based on written agreement

      (g) Building​ and grounds reasonably clean​

      (h) Floors, walls, ceilings, stairways and railings maintained in good repair.

      (i) ​Air conditioning maintained in good working condition IF supplied by landlord

      2. ​The Landlord and resident may agree upon which party is responsible for repairs and maintenance

      3. ​An agreement cannot be entered into if the duties of the Landlord have not been fulfilled in subsection 1

      (Added to NRS by 1977, 1336; A 1999, 1229; 2007, 1284)

To sum this law up LANDLORDS are ALWAYS responsible to keep the home in good working order.  But a landlord can contract with a resident, through a lease, to make the resident responsible for all our part of the cost to maintain the home or unit.  This does not allow the landlord to not fix items, the landlord must always fix habitability issues. After the repair is made he can then bill the resident for the amount as stated in the lease.

What are some other rule and ordinances that may come in to play for Habitability? For Las Vegas Landlord, and property management each city’s department of help and safety has rules, building department have rules, HOA can even have rules here are some links http://www.southernnevadahealthdistrict.org/, http://www.nvcontractorsboard.com/ . What can happen if A land lord doesn’t follow these laws: fines, court and in some cases jail time.

So in order to avoid Habitability Issues Follow these rule

1. Have a good lease that allows you to bill for damage and use in the home.
2. Never ignore your resident, actively or passively.  We 10 calls a month from landlords that go something like this.  The resident broke the such and such an Item SO I told them that they had to fix it. Now I’m getting served and have to court.  We inform the land lord that he needs to fix item.  He grumbles for a minute about it and says how it wrong and unfair that a resident can do this.  We then ask if his lease allows him to bill the resident. He normal says no.
3. Fix it and fix it fast.
4. Bill your resident don’t be shy about telling them they need to pay for damages and use
5. Use professionals

We have always followed these rules and it has kept us safe and out of hot water we hope this helps you to  

If you ever have Questions about land lording in Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson or property management. Call 702-706-7920 or email me Nathan@tkpsrealty.com  

In Nevada, rental security deposits are governed under Nevada Revised Statues 118A.242.

Among the various requirements, section 242 states that the maximum amount of a security deposit that can be required is three months rent. NRS 118A.242(1). Also, it states that the landlord must send an itemized accounting of how the security deposit was spent to the tenant within 30 days of the tenant moving out. NRS 118A.242(4). 

In order to avoid mis-communication and hard feelings from the tenant and to protect the landlord from any future legal action here are some helpful best practices. 

1) Take pictures/video of how the property was delivered to the tenant. This can be done on the initial walk-through with the tenant. The pictures/video will provide objective evidence to counter any legal or regulatory action that a disgruntled tenant may threaten to bring. 

2) Have a checklist of the things that the landlord expects to be clean along with the prices to clean them that will be taken from the security deposit. This will put the tenant on notice of what you will charge and also take away any argument that they didn’t know how much it was going to be.

3) Place security deposits in a separate bank account.

4) Take pictures/video during the final walk-through of the condition of the property with emphasis on any areas that needed to be cleaned and/or repaired. 

5) Use the same checklist in the initial walk-through for the final walk-through. 

6) Promptly prepare the security deposit deposition when the tenant moves out. Thirty days will come quicker than you think. 

Following these recommendations will help landlords effectively and lawfully deal with tenants’ security deposits.