Avoiding Landlord and Tenant Disputes
By: Derek Lee

Most disputes that occur between landlords and tenants fall into one of two categories. On the one hand, we have fabricated squabbles between “con-artist tenants” and/or “rogue landlords”; on the other are legitimate disputes between two honest parties. While an in-depth evaluation of the former group would certainly be entertaining, this article will focus on the latter.

Most landlord/tenant disputes in the second group can be avoided by employing a consistent unit condition process and thorough documentation. In fact, most landlords (or property managers as the case may be), follow some sort of unit condition process and have some sort of written description.

Documentation is typically signed by both the landlord/property manager and the tenant. However, often times, these descriptions are nebulous and are subject to interpretation. And most times, these forms are completed quickly and without any real attention to detail.

Inevitably, a dispute between the landlord and tenant results when the condition of the unit at move-out is compared to an inaccurate or incomplete initial unit condition assessment. If the assessment contains photos of the surfaces, appliances, fixtures, etc., of each room in the unit, disputes are far less likely on move-out.

As more and more landlords and property managers realize this fact, we’re witnessing the birth of a new service offering, typically provided by asset inventory documentation companies. Basically, the third party firm is engaged by the landlord/property manager or the tenant to create a unit condition assessment with photos that the landlord/property manager, tenant and documentation specialist can sign. An added benefit to both the landlord/property manager and the tenant in this situation is an objective third party assessment of the unit in question. So, moral of the story: objective documentation on move-in is the surest way to avoid a dispute on move-out.