Question: I am a tenant, and the owner of my apartment complex recently sent notification to the residents that we are required to have $100,000 renter's insurance coverage in case of damage to the apartment as a condition of our lease. We are also required to include the apartment complex as an additional insured and a vested party for reimbursement should there be any damages.  more...

Question: I have recently inherited a property from my deceased father and have uncovered that several of my tenants haven't been paying rent over the last few months. Also, the property manager who was supposed to be taking care of everything never bothered to do anything about it. We also discovered the property manager's assistant was stealing money from our account. We also believe they have been fraudulently billing us for contractor's work that hasn't been performed. What should I do?

Property manager Griswold replies:  more...

Question: I have been a tenant in a 30-unit apartment building for more than seven years. A few months back, I went to use my key in the front door of the lobby entrance to the building and the key got stuck in the lobby door. It could not be withdrawn, no matter how I wiggled it or how hard I tried. I was able to ring a friend and get in but I was concerned as no one else would now be able to enter the building with my key still stuck in the door. I could have propped the door open, but people will normally close the door due to security concerns.  more...

Question: My husband and I, along with our two small children and one dog, recently moved out of a townhome that we lived in for 2 1/2 years. The property manager is telling us that due to the use of a store-bought steam vacuum cleaner to clean up where the dog had an accident, the carpet in the entire house has to be replaced. He said it will cost us within the vicinity of $1,400-$1,800. We put down $600 for a deposit and $400 for the pet deposit.  more...

Question: We believe that there are illegal occupants living in an apartment that we own and manage. These occupants are not on the lease and we believe they are members of the tenant's family or friends. When we have asked about these people, we have been told that these people are visitors only. However, other tenants in the building also report seeing them at all hours and they are also quite disruptive to their neighbors. Our utility costs are out of control, particularly the water, which we unfortunately pay.  more...

Question: Is it legally binding to state in a lease that an existing pet is agreed to but that no more are permitted and when the said pet dies it can't be replaced? I am buying a duplex and one tenant has two cats and a bird. I have seen what damage cats can do when they decide to stop using the litter box. I want this building to be a "no-pets" property. I would not be so cruel as to tell her to get rid of her cats, and as for now, the apartment is clean and smell-free.  more...

Question: At what point does a house guest become a "lodger" requiring official eviction procedures to remove him? I rent a house from my landlord and have extra space so I decided to rent a spare bedroom to an individual because he was in a difficult situation. I feel slighted, as I have opened my home to this person on what was clearly to be a temporary basis, but now he refuses to pay rent. There is no lease or any written agreement. How can I throw him out, now that he refuses to leave? Can I simply change the locks while the guest is gone?  more...

Question: My fiancé and I really need to break our lease. We signed a one-year lease in August last year, and since then we've had nothing but issues.  more...

Question: For several years, I've rented a home to an elderly woman in an area that is popular with active senior citizens. An ideal tenant, she was always early or on time with her rent payment. But three months ago, her payments didn't arrive on the due date. When I contacted her, she said she had forgotten to mail the check. Another month went by and she forgot again. This month, I called her and she was totally disoriented, and said she has been sick and would soon get the check in the mail.  more...

Question: I have a rental unit that I have leased out with only a $200 security deposit. I inadvertently rented to a smoker with a small dog. I was aware of the dog, but not the smoking. The tenant seems to be a chain smoker -- when I enter the unit to do repairs it smells like an ashtray. He never leaves the door open and the windows are always closed. He hardly lets his dog out and I also noticed that his dog pees on the carpet. I feel that by the end of his lease the carpet will be totally trashed and the smell unacceptable.  more...

Question: My roommates and I signed a lease on a townhouse in August of 2005. Our lease stated that after 12 months, we would be on a month-to-month rental agreement at the same rental rate. We learned last week for the first time that our landlord had sold the property to another owner several months ago. Are both sides bound to the same lease terms or are we technically living here without a lease? Could we be thrown out without notice or have the rent raised?

Property manager Griswold replies:  more...

Question: I own an investment property in Phoenix, Ariz., and since summer 2005 I have been using a local management company. The first year and a half they had the property rented, but the rental home has been vacant for the last four months.  more...

Question: I live in an apartment and my air conditioning broke down on a Saturday during the hottest weekend of the year. I called the manager and he said they cannot fix it until Monday. I was without the AC for three days. I think I should not pay rent for three days. What do you think?

Steven Kellman, an attorney for tenants, replies:  more...

Question: We live and work in Germany at this time, but own some rental properties back in the United States. We signed a one-year lease for a rental house for our son to live in back in our hometown. We were looking to increase our real estate investments so we decided to buy a property of our own for our son to live in. We notified the owner of his current rental immediately, telling him we wanted to be released from the contract as soon as possible and that there was another person interested in taking over the lease.  more...