Articles

In my very first post on this site, found here, I wrote about the 2012 case of Benningfield v. Zinsmeister in which the Kentucky Supreme Court interpreted the state’s dog-bite statutes in such a way as to hold landlords liable for injuries caused by dogs that they permit to be cared for or housed on their property if the dog causes damage on the property or within immediate physical reach of the property. The relevant liability statute, found here, holds owners liable for injuries and damages caused by their dog, and the Court interpreted the definition of “owner” to include...

Our recent theme on the blog has been familial status discrimination. My first article on the topic delved into age-related rules that are commonly used by landlords and gave some guidelines on which rules to eliminate and which need to be revised to comply with Fair Housing law. My most recent article was about a property manager who tried to keep residents with children separated from those without children. Her intent was to keep the children in a safer part of the property and to keep noise levels down for residents without children. The fact patterns in both articles were...

THE ISSUES Kelsey has managed rental property for many years. For the last 10 years, she has been with a small apartment community with 28 units. The property has two buildings, one in the front and one in the back of the property. During Kelsey's early years at the property, she had several residents complain that cars were speeding in the parking lot. Apparently, several of the offenders had nearly hit some children playing near the front building. Kelsey followed up on the complaints and did her best to identify the speeding vehicles, but she could never pin the offense on any...

THE NARRATIVE Clint is the property manager of a mid-size suburban apartment complex called Eastwood Village. The complex markets itself as a quiet community where its residents can get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. The owner has directed Clint to create and strictly enforce rules that will ensure a quiet and orderly community. To that end, each resident is required to sign a lease in which they agree not to disturb other residents, that children under the age of 16 are not to use the amenities without supervision by an adult, that children under the age...

Every landlord has to deal with arrests at some point. For some, that day comes when you’re in the management office and look outside to see a convoy of police cars rolling onto your property with lights on and sirens blaring. Shortly thereafter, the officers are leading one of your tenants away in cuffs, for everyone to see. For others, the experience is not quite so dramatic, as you only deal with arrests on paper, typically when a criminal background check on an applicant shows a history of arrests. So what do we do when confronted with the arrest or...