Every Landlord's Legal Guide (Every Landlords Legal Guide, 5th ed) [Paperback]

Marcia Stewart (Author), Ralph E. Warner (Author), Janet Portman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 087337794X | ISBN-13: 978-0873377942 | Publication Date: January 2002 | Edition: 5th

Whether you have one unit or one hundred, this book will give you the legal and practical information you need to comply with your state's laws, find and keep good tenants, and avoid legal trouble.

A Nolo bestseller, Every Landlord's Legal Guide shows you how to:

* screen and choose prospective tenants
* write a legal rental agreement or lease
* hire a property manager
* deal with problem tenants
* understand repair, maintenance and security
* responsibilities
* avoid lawsuits
* comply with laws regarding security deposits, privacy, discrimination, senior housing, habitability and much more

The completely revised and updated 5th edition includes new and updated legal forms (as tear-outs and on CD-ROM), as well as changes in your state's laws. It also provides information on toxic mold, FCC rules on satellite dishes and antennas, and a new section covering how landlords must treat property abandoned by tenants.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This is a practical, well-organized manual for how to be a good landlord and avoid some of the pitfalls of owning rental property. Sample leases and rental agreements, information about liability, discrimination, repairs, and maintenance, and how to deal with problem tenants fairly and legally are all contained in here. Maybe if more landlords read this book, more tenants would feel like they and the owner are not intrinsic adversaries. Even though we get along quite well, and have for the last 22 years, I lent my copy to my landlord--for the other tenants' sakes! --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This new title is a thorough and pragmatic examination of the legal issues that confront landlords of residential real property. In 17 chapters, it covers such topics as rent, discrimination, working with property managers, landlord liability, tenants, privacy rights, and security deposits. The chapters summarize the law and explain it with true-to-life illustrations. Icons are used to point out a practical tip, a question that might need a lawyer's interpretation, or an instance in which a rent-control ordinance might apply. The book is liberally sprinkled with sample agreements, letters, and lists of specific state requirements with regard to landlord/tenant laws. Forms to help with rent applications, tenant references, security deposit itemization, and safety and maintenance updates, to name a few, appear in print at the end of the book and on an accompanying 3.5" DOS-based computer disk. Every Landlord's Legal Guide makes plain the important legal concepts and provides real guidance for landlords. Recommended for most public libraries.?Joan Pedzich, Harris, Beach & Wilcox, Rochester, N.Y.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 501 pages
• Publisher: Nolo; 5th edition (January 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087337794X
• ISBN-13: 978-0873377942
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (94 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,108,373 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CAVEAT for NY & CA landlords, February 12, 2005

By 

AlexandriaPhilo "Cinelog" (Berkeley, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Every Landlord's Legal Guide (Paperback)

CAVEAT for NY & CA landlords, February 12, 2005
Reviewer: AlexandriaPhilo "Cinelog" (Berkeley, CA United States) - See all my reviews
If you own in New York or California you will want to buy the editions specific for those states. I live in California and almost goofed and bought this edition.

More info is available at the Nolo site at nolo.com

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best landlord book bar-none!, May 17, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Every Landlord's Legal Guide with CDROM (Every Landlord's Legal Guide (W/CD)) (Paperback)

This is the only book you need! It is incredibly easy to use and covers everything from rental agreements, to liability and discrimination, to maintenance, to evictions. It really leaves nothing out. The best part is the included CD-ROM which has all of the forms you'll need in an easy-to-fill-in format.
I own five properties and thanks to Every Landlord's Legal Guide I have learned how to legally protect myself and have consequently avoided countless expensive lawsuits. This book could end up saving you thousands!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the one book you need, November 11, 2004

By 

mdchachi "mdchachi" (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Every Landlord's Legal Guide with CDROM (Every Landlord's Legal Guide (W/CD)) (Paperback)

If you only wanted to buy one book to help you get going in landlording, this is the one. It covers all the legal considerations you need to be aware of as a landlord including differences in state laws and the legal forms you need. In so doing, it covers most of the landlording issues that other books do since, really, most of them boil down to legal issues.

The state-by-state legal differences were particularly useful so I could craft my lease and properly follow the letter of the law. With just a generic how-to-landlord book, I'm not sure what I would have done. I probably wouldn't have been as aware as I should have about my local laws. And, bonus, the book is clear and easy to read.