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Can an Elgin Landlord be Sued for a Renter’s Negligence?

A property manager sits at a table with a couple, discussing lease terms in a casual setting.Suitably understanding the potential legal consequences of a tenant’s negligence is quite a significant challenge for landlords. When your tenant signed the lease, they practically agreed to maintain your Elgin rental home in a clean and proper condition and refrain from illegal activities. However, as a matter of fact, not all tenants adhere to these terms, and concerns that begin on the property can instantly escalate into legal problems for you.

While it is in fact true that you are not held responsible for the illegal activities of your tenant, if you have an idea that your rental home is being used for unauthorized business activities, your neighbors could potentially hold you responsible. The outcome of any legal action taken against you could be, for the most part, depending on your awareness of the issue and the steps you took to address it. Being proactive in such situations is certainly critical to protecting your interests.

How and When You Knew

Oftentimes, renters are pretty good at hiding shady activities from their landlords. But take note, if you do find out what’s happening on your rental property, it is significant to address the issues immediately. In some regions, you could be held liable in court if your tenant engages in dangerous or illegal activities that you were actually aware of.

For instance, if you knew one of your tenants was using your rental home as a daycare and one of your renters or their clients hurt someone, themselves, or damaged personal property, the court could potentially hold you liable for any damages.

The Slippery Slope of “Should”

In a few occasions, whether you “should” have known about a renter’s illicit activities may arise. For example, if you know your renter is self-employed before you offer them a lease, there is some confusion about whether or not that concludes that you should have assumed they would be conducting that business in the rental home.

Also, if your renter had been evicted for raucous parties in the past, you may be held liable since you should have checked with their previous landlord about it. But certainly, if you’ve executed due diligence and didn’t discover any evidence of past problems, that will intensify your chances of avoiding liability.

Addressing the Problem

Addressing any problems a renter creates the moment you heard about them is always a good idea. Though sometimes, a property owner has a limited ability to wholly fix the issue altogether. If a tenant is creating a nuisance for the neighbors but hasn’t directly broken the lease terms, you can’t be held responsible for failing to evict them.

In order for you to be liable, you must have the power to definitely do something related to the issue. Naturally, the flip side is that if your lease clarifies that you don’t allow wild parties or business activities and you don’t take action, you might be on the hook in a lawsuit.

The specific terms and language used in the lease are a key first step toward holding your tenants accountable for any nuisance or illicit activities. In conjunction with that, taking immediate and appropriate action is likewise relevant to keeping yourself from being sued by disgruntled neighbors.

Attentively and thoroughly screening your renters is another necessary part of keeping yourself out of unwelcome legal trouble, as is accomplishing regular property evaluations. At Real Property Management NW Chicago Suburbs, we do all this for our Elgin property owners – and more. Would you like to actually know more? Please feel free to get in touch with us online or by phone at 847-737-4800 for more information.

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