About Being a Landlord

Landlords are the owners of real estate that is rented or leased to others. In most cases, rental agreements (usually leases) dictate exactly how much the renter or lessee pays monthly to occupy the property, what is the length of the occupancy, which party is responsible for what services (electricity, cable television) and what are the rules that the tenant has to abide by. The landlord is the person responsible for abiding (and making sure that tenants abide) by the rental agreement, and who deals with issues that arise.

Function

As the owner of the property, the landlord is responsible for finding a tenant to occupy the property, collecting the rent, making sure conditions stated in the lease agreement are enforced and deal with any problems and issues that arise in the day-to-day routines. It is also the landlord that makes sure that the property is maintained in a legal manner, and all local codes and zoning issues are met.

Types

Residential landlords rent out to people needing a place to live. Commercial landlords rent office space, retail, commercial or industrial space. Because of the complications involved with commercial properties, being a commercial landlord is a full-time occupation, and not something that can done in off-hours. Many commercial, retail and industrial properties are owned and managed by large corporations.

Size

Landlords can rent out property of any size, from a spare bedroom in a condo to entire industrial parks and office suites. Landlords who deal with small properties (renting out parts of a home, an apartment or one house or condo) are usually able to handle their responsibilities while holding down a full-time job. Any larger job, or commercial properties, usually require a full-time commitment, or a middleman to handle that part of the business.

Considerations

Some property owners are unable to perform the standard landlord duties (property owned in a different part of the country, for example), while others don't want the hassle of dealing with the day-to-day duties. In these cases, they often hire property managers who handle these functions, and charge a monthly fee (usually a percentage of the rent) for their work.

Misconceptions

Contrary to popular belief, being a landlord is not a license to print money. Many people think the hardest part about being a landlord is the monthly trip to the bank, to deposit the rent check. Truth is, it's a full-time commitment, with problems arising 24/7. Extremely inconvenient issues, for example loss of heat in the dead of winter, a burst pipe Saturday at midnight, or a leaky roof are exactly the issues that landlords have to handle on a regular basis.

Resources

• Renters' Rights: Resource Center
• Landlord Association