How can You Avoid Harassment as a Landlord?

In most cases the landlord may not even realize that they are harassing their tenant. You need stay educated to deal with times of frustration properly.

What exactly is Landlord Harassment?

Landlord Harassment is a certain set of behaviors that are designed to encourage the tenant to abandon the rental property or break the lease agreement. This type of harassment can be difficult for tenants to prove. However, the courts and landlords are becoming more aware of Landlord Harassment.

Landlord Harassment will often happen in situations where a landlord would like to place a new, higher paying tenant and does not want to wait on proper methods to do so.

The following are some examples of Landlord Harassment:

• Refusing to accept or acknowledge correct rent payment.
• Destroying a tenant’s property deliberately.
• Entering the rental property without proper notice or cause.
• No longer allowing certain amenities that were allowed before (such as, pool access and landscaping).
• Situations that do not allow the tenant to enjoy a quiet rental unit by creating a nuisance.
• Not performing maintenance in a timely or proper manner.
• Physical intimidation by threatening physical violence.
• Made up or exaggerated notices of improper conduct.
• Threatening financial harm.
• Singling out one tenant for violations that are ignored with other tenants.

Landlord Harassment is not an acceptable means to the end.

It cannot be said enough times, document, document, document. Keep copies of all rental agreements, notices and letters. Write down conversations and make note of any witnesses.

Let’s say that you have a tenant that filed a complaint to a government agency about you, you were already planning to raise rent a couple months later, make sure that you have documentation that everyone’s rent was raised, not just that tenant’s rent.

The bottom line is that harassment, intimidation and coercion are against the law and not proper methods to get a tenant to leave a rental property.