evicted — will refuse to move out. Here is where things can get dicey, and you might need law enforcement on your side to help you through this process. Literally, you might need cops to come out and work with you to actually physically remove all of the tenant’s belongings from your house and put them out on the curb. Evictions are no picnic, but if you’re going to be a landlord, evictions are something that you’re going to have to get used to dealing with. In addition, you might need to deal with any potential legal issues. You need to ensure you protect yourself and your rights under the lease and document everything. Keep records. This way, if anything goes awry, the tenants can’t blame problems on you, and they can’t take you to court if something goes wrong during their lease.
Fair Housing Act
The U.S. Fair Housing Act (FHA) was put in place in 1968 in order to protect citizens from housing discrimination, unfair renting practices, and poor housing conditions. People with low incomes, people of color, and immigrants were especially at risk of discrimination. Fair Housing Act laws are still in effect to protect against housing-related discrimination based on race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex/gender, disability, and familial status. This act has helped millions of people find homes, and protects people against discrimination, but it can leave rental property owners vulnerable and liable and open to complaints, and even lawsuits. Even if you’re not ultimately found at fault in an FHA complaint, you can still spend thousands and thousands of dollars protecting and defending yourself from the complaint in the first place. Even
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