Taking the time to learn about legal rights and responsibilities of roommates can make sharing a place a considerably easier. And, the next step after putting everything down in writing is to work out a deal with the landlord.

Once all the roommates have signed the rental agreement making each one individually responsible for paying the entire rent each month, and if you have already signed a lease and moved in, the next step is to acquire the landlord’s permission regarding taking on roommates.

No doubt, your landlord will likely wish to review the credit history of your potential roommates, in addition to securing additional security and pet deposits. As well, he / she may also raise the rent, in view of the fact that there are extra people sharing the rental unit.

And, don’t be surprised if adding on roommates to the rental agreement means your landlord has a new lease drawn up, to be signed by each of the co-tenants.

That apart, landlords should make themselves cognisant with all rules and regulations before drafting tenancy leases or rental agreements. They must also take all necessary precautions, such as, tenant screenings, background checks on prospective tenants, including making certain all rental lease clauses are adhered to, as insurance for a litigation free landlord / tenant relationship. A simple click of the mouse and any landlord or property manager can visit www.e-renter.com for their tenant screening and background check services. www.e-renter.com, the best tenant screening agency in America!

A landlord and tenant may disagree over rent increases, or over whose responsibility it is to carry out repairs, or over security deposit returns, but whatever, the reason for the dispute, try and avoid getting involved in expensive litigation. A trip to the lawyers should be the last resort and not your first choice for landlord / tenant dispute resolution.

Both, landlords and tenants should follow the following tips, so as to avoid legal problems:

1. They should be up-to-date and fully cognisant with their rights and responsibilities under federal, state, and local law.
2. Both should ensure that the lease or rental agreement terms are clear.
3. All doors to communication should be kept open. In case, there is a problem, for example, a disagreement over the landlord’s right to enter an occupied rental unit, it should be either resolved over a friendly discussion between landlord and tenant, or through arbitration or with the help of a local dispute resolution service.
4. Copies of all landlord / tenant correspondence should be kept, including notes of conversations regarding problems relating to the tenancy. As you know, all rental unit repairs should be asked for in writing and a copy kept of the letter. On his / her part, the landlord should keep a copy of the repair request, as well as, keeping notes on when and how the problem was fixed.

That apart, landlords should make themselves cognisant with all rules and regulations before drafting tenancy leases or rental agreements. They must also take all necessary precautions, such as, tenant screenings, background checks on prospective tenants, including making certain all rental lease clauses are adhered to, as insurance for a litigation free landlord / tenant relationship. A simple click of the mouse and any landlord or property manager can visit www.e-renter.com for their tenant screening and background check services. www.e-renter.com, the best tenant screening agency in America!

If, a landlord has promised a clean and freshly painted apartment to a tenant before the latter moves in, then it is his / her duty to deliver what has been promised. Or else, he / she is liable to run into problems, if the tenant reports the unhealthy living conditions to the health department. In case, the unpainted and unclean conditions are genuine health risks, and the deteriorating lead-based paint a health hazard, the health department, depending on its workload and the severity of the problems, will take action.

Many states have enacted remedies to counter the seriously harmful conditions tenants have to face due to unscrupulous landlords. Tenants are legally entitled to carry out repairs and deduct the cost from the rent. As well, they are entitled to withhold rent until the landlord carries out the cleaning and repairs.

So, to avoid a whole pile of headaches, it is better for a landlord to clean and paint the apartment, repair anything else that requires it, before a tenant moves in. As for the tenant, he / she should get any promises made by a landlord in writing, or better still avoid renting a dirty place. A landlord who advertises and shows a unit that is unpainted and dirty, obviously has no pride in his / her property and more than likely will not maintain it properly during your tenancy.

That apart, landlords should make themselves cognisant with all rules and regulations before drafting tenancy leases or rental agreements. They must also take all necessary precautions, such as, tenant screenings, background checks on prospective tenants, including making certain all rental lease clauses are adhered to, as insurance for a litigation free landlord / tenant relationship. A simple click of the mouse and any landlord or property manager can visit www.e-renter.com for their tenant screening and background check services. www.e-renter.com, the best tenant screening agency in America!

In case, you and your tenant have been unable to resolve disagreements on your own, why not indulge in a fit of brilliance by considering mediation by a neutral, third party, commonly called a mediator. While, a mediator may have no power to impose a decision in the manner a judge is empowered to, if the issue had been taken to court, he / she can simply work to help find a mutually acceptable solution for resolving the dispute. As you are aware, anyone can avail of such services, as they are publicly funded and often available at little or no cost.

For more information on local mediation programmes, contact the mayor or city manager’s office. Ask for the staff member, in charge of handing ‘landlord / tenant mediation matters’ or ‘housing disputes’, since he / she can refer you to the public office, business, or community group responsible for handling landlord / tenant mediations.

That apart, landlords should make themselves cognisant with all rules and regulations before drafting tenancy leases or rental agreements. They must also take all necessary precautions, such as, tenant screenings, background checks on prospective tenants, including making certain all rental lease clauses are adhered to, as insurance for a litigation free landlord / tenant relationship. A simple click of the mouse and any landlord or property manager can visit www.e-renter.com for their tenant screening and background check services. www.e-renter.com, the best tenant screening agency in America!

Many a time, landlords with rental property find that along with their bonafide tenant, they are saddled with a friend he / she allowed to stay over, while the guest searched for a place to live. However, come time to move and the visitor refuses to comply. Now, while most landlords want the original tenant to stay, as does the tenant, the guest is the one that they want to leave. In such a situation, most would be tempted to change the locks on the doors, allowing access only to the original tenant and, excluding his / her visitor. The question that arises is, whether such an act would be legal.

As long as, rent has not been accepted from the tenant’s guest or any indication given that he / she has been accepted as a tenant, the latter is nothing, but an unauthorised occupant. The fact that your tenant allowed a guest to stay for a while, does not turn the guest into a co-tenant.

Theoretically, an unauthorised occupant is nothing other than a trespasser, and states have ways to get rid of them, so you can begin with a call to your local police. There is no legal reason, why you and your tenant cannot change the locks to keep out a trespasser.

However, while the law may be on your side, you are restricted from taking it safely in your own hands. Most often, many long-term guests will claim they were treated like tenants, which means they have the same rights as bonafide tenants. And, as everyone knows freedom from illegal evictions, including lock changing is a significant tenant right.

So, unfortunately, the wisest course a landlord stuck with an unwanted guest can take, instead of changing locks and being sued in court, is to file an eviction action against this interloper.

That apart, landlords should make themselves cognisant with all rules and regulations before drafting tenancy leases or rental agreements. They must also take all necessary precautions, such as, tenant screenings, background checks on prospective tenants, including making certain all rental lease clauses are adhered to, as insurance for a litigation free landlord / tenant relationship. A simple click of the mouse and any landlord or property manager can visit www.e-renter.com for their tenant screening and background check services. www.e-renter.com, the best tenant screening agency in America!

Now, that you have selected the roommate you wish to share your rental accommodation with, the next logical step is to ensure all legal rights and responsibilities of co-tenants are put down in writing, in order to make sharing not only a whole lot easier, but a pleasant experience, as well.

The only thing that will hold, in the event things go wrong between roommates is, if there is a written agreement regarding:

1. How the rent is to be split and paid together with utilities and security deposits.
2. As well, house rules if any, regarding pets, including pet security deposits.
3. Whether, smoking is to be allowed or not, and if so, smoking and the non-smoking areas should be clearly demarcated.
4. Partying hours and drug use (or lack thereof) must be decided on at the outset.
5. In addition, late hours and noise levels must be agreed upon.
6. Whether, overnight guests are permitted, and if so, how often?
7. Whether, food and cooking duties are to be shared or each one buys his / her own groceries, does his / her own cooking.
8. Chalk out a cleaning schedule and how household chores are to be shared.

Though, as you will find, it is impossible to enforce the rules, such as, forcing your roommate to wash his / her dirty dishes, or to maintain the quiet while other roommates are sleeping, a small claims court judge has the power to enforce agreements, as to how rent and utilities are to be paid.

That apart, landlords should make themselves cognisant with all rules and regulations before drafting tenancy leases or rental agreements. They must also take all necessary precautions, such as, tenant screenings, background checks on prospective tenants, including making certain all rental lease clauses are adhered to, as insurance for a litigation free landlord / tenant relationship. A simple click of the mouse and any landlord or property manager can visit www.e-renter.com for their tenant screening and background check services. www.e-renter.com, the best tenant screening agency in America!

Being aware of their legal rights and responsibilities can make sharing a place a whole lot easier for roommates. Therefore, it is important for you to find out more, in case you are thinking of taking on a roommate to halve your living expenses.

Selecting Roommates
Simply, because you have a great time hanging out and partying with friends, is no sure-fire guarantee that you will enjoy sharing accommodation and living together. In deciding to go in for a roommate or roommates, the following issues must be considered carefully, in order to decide a roommate’s true potential.

Give due consideration to:

• Before letting anyone move in with you, check out his / her personality, as it is most essential to check out what kind of character your potential roommate is.
• Find out whether your potential roommate leads a healthy lifestyle or not, including his / her habits.
• Duly consider the income of your potential roommate, including his / her budget.
• As well, his / her circle of friends i.e. the kind of people he / she tends to hang out with. As you know, birds of a feather flock together, and that sort of thing.
• Whether, your potential roommate will be bringing or not bringing a pet with him / her.

That apart, landlords should make themselves cognisant with all rules and regulations before drafting tenancy leases or rental agreements. They must also take all necessary precautions, such as, tenant screenings, background checks on prospective tenants, including making certain all rental lease clauses are adhered to, as insurance for a litigation free landlord / tenant relationship. A simple click of the mouse and any landlord or property manager can visit www.e-renter.com for their tenant screening and background check services. www.e-renter.com, the best tenant screening agency in America!

A question often asked by many landlords and tenants, the answer is yes a lease or rental agreement is a key tenancy document that dictates important terms, such as:

1. Duration of the tenancy.
2. Rental amount and security deposit amount to be paid by the tenant.
3. Restrictions regarding the number of people allowed to live on the rental property.
4. Whether, landlord or tenant is responsible for paying the utilities.
5. Whether, the tenant can or cannot keep pets.
6. Whether, the property can be sublet by the tenant.
7. Landlord’s access to the rental property.
8. Whether, landlord or tenant will be responsible for paying legal fees, in case of litigation concerning the meaning or implementation of the lease or rental agreement.

Always, ensure leases and rental agreements are in writing, despite the fact most states do enforce oral (spoken) agreements for a certain period of time. While, oral agreements appear easy and informal, they can often be the source of disputes resulting in expensive litigation. In case, tenant / landlord later disagree about key agreements, such as, whether a tenant can sublet, it could all likely end up as a court argument, over who said what to whom, when, and in what context. A particular problem with long-term leases, it is why courts in most states refuse to enforce oral agreements, after the passage of one year.

For landlord / tenant disputes, the best option is to screen tenants carefully. Get professional help from tenant screening agencies. With a click of the mouse, you can visit www.e-renter.com for all your tenant screening requirements.