Property Management News

Tenants smoking inside rental property can be a real headache for property managers so in this week’s Ask Landlord Hank question he offers some suggestions on how to know find out if tenants have been smoking in the rental unit. Dear Landlord Hank, My lease specifies no smoking in the unit and even goes so far as to state that tenants may be responsible for all costs to repaint/clean if they do smoke in the unit, but I am struggling with how to enforce this clause because it’s difficult to prove. When my latest tenants moved out I found the entire inside of the unit had a grey haze on everything (walls, ceiling, doors, and cabinets). They insist they didn’t smoke in the unit and... Read more

When it comes to apartment buildings, the kitchen truly is the most dangerous room in the home.  Even though incidents of apartment fires have dropped by more than 20% since 1980, according to the National Fire Protection Agency, and deaths from apartment fires dropped by 40% during that time, apartment cooking fires still remain the greatest safety threat for tenants.  When compared to any other cause of fire in apartments, cooking has a distinct lead. And even though cooking fires are a danger in one- or two-family dwellings, apartments have double the rate of cooking fires. What makes them more dangerous is that one person’s fire, if not contained immediately, can spread through a... Read more