Fair housing laws are specific, and they’re always changing.
You have to do your due diligence as a rental property owner. Fair housing mistakes are easy to make, and it doesn’t matter if they’re unintentional…the penalties are extremely expensive.
If you cannot stay up to date on what’s required federally and at the state and local level, you can always choose to work with a professional property management company.
Fair Housing and Phoenix Leasing
A lot of tenant advocacy groups out there are looking for reasons to bring a fair housing complaint against landlords and rental owners. If you hear from them, simply tell them that you’re contacting a property management company and call us. We can protect your interests and ensure you and your property are compliant with all fair housing laws.
During the leasing period, watch how you market your property. Using the wrong language will get you in trouble, especially if you appear to be excluding one of the protected classes.
Tenant screening requires a consistent, and well-documented process for reviewing applications and issuing approvals or denials. Make sure you have a set of standard rental criteria and handle every application exactly the same as you handle the others.
Service Animals and Companion Animals
One of the more recent trends in fair housing is companion animals. Service animals have been widely used and accepted for decades. Companion animals, however, including emotional support animals, are fairly new when it comes to accommodations for fair housing. If a tenant has a mental or emotional disability and a healthcare provider has signed off on their need for a companion animal, you’ll have to allow them into your property. This applies even if you have a no-pets policy. As with service animals, you cannot charge a pet fee and you cannot charge pet rent.
Property managers can take the necessary steps to confirm the supporting documentation that tenants provide to prove their need for a companion animal. We can make sure the laws are being followed and that our owners aren’t being taken advantage of.
Continued Education and Phoenix Property Management
Fair housing compliance is one of the best reasons to hire a Phoenix property management company. When you partner with a property manager who understands the laws and how they’re applied, you won’t have to worry about expensive mistakes or fair housing complaints.
At Service Star Realty, we participate in continued education classes on fair housing topics every year. The handymen we work with are also sent to training so they know what can be said or done and what cannot be said or done. We also follow court cases and stay present when new interpretations of the law are used.
Following all the state, local, and federal fair housing laws can be complicated. Fair housing often seems like a huge beast to contend with when you’re renting out a property on your own. Having an expert on your side who has the proper systems in place can help you avoid unknown discriminations, and also help alleviate the stress of having to do it all yourself.
Contact us at Service Star Realty for help with fair housing or any of your Phoenix property management needs.
Service Star Realty
2929 East Camelback Road #119, Phoenix, AZ 85016
(480) 426-9696
Author
