Property owners and managers have a right to establish reasonable rules and policies for behavior in their rental communities. Fair housing laws require owners and managers to set rules that do not target any particular “protected class” and to apply the rules equally among residents. Here are some situations to help you determine whether fair housing applies.

Residents have complained about loud noises coming from the Hansen apartment. When the landlord talks with them, they say their developmentally disabled son made the noise, so he can’t do anything about it. Is that true?

Can a person’s behavior and values really determine if they will be a future SuperStar for your property management company? If you knew the formula for hiring SuperStars and could cut your recruiting costs in half, would you start today? This article outlines three simple but critical steps for adding structure to your hiring process and raising your level of success.

Strengthening the interview process:

Commercial and residential property requires management in one form or another. A RI property management company, deals with the same issues and concerns as, for example, a Los Angeles property management. In property management RI, MD, VA or TX, many of the ordinances and legalities may vary, but the basic concerns are the same. Visit any city in the country and there will be renters with horror stories, and landlords with nightmares. The basis of most of these problems isn't the property itself, but the human element.

The Seattle City Council recently approved (7-0, Rasmussen and O'Brien disqualified) legislation to better protect renters from sub-standard rental housing conditions. The three pieces of legislation create a framework to improve sub-standard housing via administrative warrants and a rental housing licensing and inspection program as early as 2012.

According to a recent article in the Insurance Journal, more than 40 states now have enforcing privacy and security breach notification laws. Underwriters are working hard to provide the needed coverage, while also tweaking their policy forms to provide the broadest and most comprehensive program design.

A few months ago I had the opportunity to address 100 real estate investors at a dinner meeting. It was a great evening of give and take. My goal was to help them focus on improving the profitability of their real estate investments. We discussed the following:

Income
We addressed common causes of lost rental income:

a. Rent that is too low
b. Rent that is too high ( and delays the rental of a property)
c. Rent concessions
d. Reluctance to increase rents of existing tenants on an annual basis
e. Not charging fees or deposits

Connecticut has just made green history with the installation of a 400 kilowatt fuel cell at 360 State Street, a new mixed-use 700,000 square foot development in the heart of New Haven's downtown.. This is the first large-scale residential installation of a fuel cell in the world and its application marks a groundbreaking shift in the United States' use of clean energy technologies.

You already know about federally required lead disclosures and the blue “Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home” booklets . You should have heard by now about the newer federal requirements to also disclose prior to repairs or renovations and the new “Renovate Right” booklets . You’ve also, no doubt, heard about lead-laced toy recalls in the news…