Property management law covers statutes, common law, and ethics related to rental property owners and managers. Laws vary by jurisdiction and aim to protect tenants and property owners. Property managers may be liable for wrongful eviction and are responsible for repairs and maintenance. National laws, such as lead paint disclosure, also regulate the relationship between property managers and tenants.
Property management law is an area of real estate law that covers the statutes, common law, and ethics that pertain to rental property owners and individuals who manage property for others. Property managers manage rental properties of all types, including commercial and residential properties. Individuals can refer to these laws to determine the rights and responsibilities of property owners and managers. Laws vary by jurisdiction, but their purpose is often to protect tenants and property owners who hire property managers. Some of the areas of property management law are housing discrimination, eviction, maintenance, and repairs.
A common problem that arises for property managers is the eviction of tenants, and regional laws specify how property managers can legally evict a tenant. If they fail to comply with these laws, they may be liable to both the tenants and the landlord. For example, a tenant may sue a landlord and property manager as co-defendants in a wrongful eviction lawsuit. The landlord may be able to sue the property manager in the same lawsuit and win if the property manager violated the laws in trying to get the tenant off the premises. Eviction laws apply to property owners and managers, but property management laws can also impose additional responsibilities and ethical requirements.
Landlords often hire property managers because they don’t want to deal with repairs and maintenance requests made by tenants. Property management law often guarantees the rights of residential tenants to live in habitable premises. Property managers, acting on behalf of the owners, are required by law to carry out the necessary repairs in a timely manner so that the tenant can live in adequate conditions. For example, the property manager is legally responsible to make repairs if a heating system malfunctions or to provide an alternative housing unit until repairs can be made if it occurs during cold weather. Living without heat in cold weather is often considered an uninhabitable condition that the property manager faces by law.
National laws may also regulate the relationship between property managers and tenants. For example, US laws that require tenants to be notified of lead paint disclosure are federal laws. While not specifically addressed in regional property management law, a property manager is subject to it and will be liable for violating a federal law governing landlord-tenant rights.
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