Today I want to touch on a couple of landlord laws in northern Virginia that are particularly important for rental property owners. First of all, if you own more than four rental properties, you fall under what is called the VRLTA, or the Virginia Residential Landlord Tenant Act. There are things required of you that are a little bit different than those who don’t own as many properties. If you aren’t familiar with that act, you really need to look at it and understand what your obligations are.
Another important law you need to be aware of as a landlord is what you have to do with a security deposit. When a tenant pays you a security deposit, you need to keep that money in a separate escrow account. It cannot be in the same account as your other funds. Most people are not aware of this requirement and they comingle their funds. That’s going to be a problem if you have to give the security deposit back, and the money has been spent. Keeping it separate is the law, so make sure you have an account set up specifically for the security deposit.
Check the smoke detector and carbon monoxide laws in your area. It’s very important to have a functional smoke detector in your property and it’s a good idea to install a carbon monoxide detector as well. Inspect those detectors regularly to ensure they work.
A huge legal area that inexperienced landlords often have problems with is fair housing laws. You want to comply with all of the federal, state and local housing laws that are in place. You want to make sure you don’t discriminate or you’ll find yourself in big trouble later. Sometimes, landlords appear to be discriminating even when they don’t intend to. It’s important to have a good understanding of how fair housing laws impact your advertising, screening and renting procedures.
These are only a few of the laws that will affect you as a property manager. Keeping up with the constantly changing regulations is a big part of property management, and all landlord and tenant laws will affect you and how you rent out your home.
Please contact us at Richey Property Management if you want to talk more about landlord laws, or if you have any questions we can help you with.
