Discovering When to Pursue Legal Action
Should your property management company break your rental agreement, this could be considered legal grounds to take action. Landlords have the right to screen tenants, inspect their units, and terminate the tenancy if rules are consistently broken or not followed. If your property management company is holding onto your security deposit or otherwise taking other funds from you, you may need to seek legal advice from a real estate lawyer to get compensated. While no one wants to break out the big legal guns, sometimes they can be very necessary. This is especially true when your property management company violates your written agreement, leases laws, or both. In order to prove that your property management sector engaged in misconduct, you will need evidence to prove they have acted unlawfully. Your proof will likely include email communication , photographs of damage to your home, or evidence of financial misconduct in the case of charging a fee not described in your agreement. In most cases, your proof should at least draw a reasonable comparison with what is outlined in your legal agreement and what was provided to you or expected in return. A breach of contract claim requires that there be a legally valid agreement in place. If a written agreement is in place, but the property management agency is riddled with immoral practices, then a civil lawsuit could be developed from this demand for a fair solution to the issue. Consulting with your lawyer, they may determine that the illegal conduct of the managing agent is also against the law, in which further legal action could be taken.
Collecting Evidence to Build Your Case
n most cases, a single piece of evidence will not be enough to prove your point. Whether you are dealing with a personal injury or a breach of contract, the strength of your case will often come down to the number of supporting pieces of evidence you have collected. For this reason, whether you are planning on handling a legal matter on your own or enlisting the help of an attorney, you will want to ensure that you have collected all of the evidence necessary to support your claims.
To get started, consider the types of evidence that may be useful to your case. Typically, you will be able to find useful evidence in the form of any emails or text messages exchanged with the property manager, any contracts you have signed, and any receipts for repairs made, communications with vendors, fees paid, etc. You should also gather all original documents or correspondence you have related to your tenancy such as a move-in inspection report, previous repair requests, utility bills, etc.
In addition, you should take an inventory of anything at the property of which you do not have a written record. For example, if the property manager has made repairs to the property, you will want to note what repairs were made and when. You will also want to document any communication with the property management company. A good way to keep track of this communication is by making notes in a calendar or journal for reference later. As much as possible, try to include the date, time, location, purpose of the communication, parties involved, and whether there was a witness to the communication. If you are ever in question about whether a certain piece of information is relevant to a tenant-related dispute, you should document that information just to be on the safe side and discuss its importance with your attorney who will advise you as to the relevance of the information.
Finally, any information collected by another party that may be considered relevant to your case should be reviewed. This may include information such as photographs or videos of the premises, security records, building records, permits, inspection reports, survey reports, and any other information relevant to your case.
Seeking Legal Remedies
When it comes to taking legal action against a property management company, there are a number of paths you can consider. Depending on the circumstances of your case, some options may be more effective than others. Three common avenues are filing a lawsuit, engaging in mediation, or filing a complaint with a government agency. In most situations, you will want to file a lawsuit as a first course of action. One benefit of doing so is that a lawsuit automatically gives you the chance to recover your attorney fees. Further, as part of the lawsuit process, courts are able to issue injunctions, which prevent the property management company from acting in a certain way or from continuing their activities until your case is settled. An injunction can be a powerful tool for property owners who feel they have been wronged by the property management company. Lawsuits are often the best method for alleviating disputes with a landlord or a property management company because they are legally binding—thus, they create a court order that can only be overturned by the judge. Of course, lawsuits do have one major disadvantage: they are expensive. You must be able to afford the costs of hiring an attorney, court fees, and more, in order to successfully have your case filed and resolved. Not only this, but lawsuits can also take quite a long time to resolve. Should it come down to it, a lawsuit is the best option to strongly consider when you have already tried every other method for resolution. The only true reason for considering alternate methods of dispute resolution is if you have a good reason to believe that they will result in a quicker resolution of the case or will provide a better result. One of these options is mediation. Mediation involves asking for a third party to serve as the mediator between you and the property management company. This person’s job is to determine the "truth" of the situation and achieve a settlement between both parties, based on that determination. This process can be beneficial in cases where there is some ambiguity in the truth, or where negotiations have reached a standstill. In some cases, the opposing party may simply refuse to negotiate with you, meaning mediation would be a much faster option for resolution of the case. However, this is still a case by case matter—those who use mediation often find that they are not as satisfied with the results as those who file a lawsuit, where the results are much more binding and clear-cut. Mediation can also be time-consuming, and it does not promise any results, so you should only rely on this method when you believe that it is an effective option for your situation and that a managed discussion with the property management company may be all it takes to come to a resolution. A final option is choosing to file a complaint against the property management company with a government agency. Government agencies, such as the Department of Real Estate, handle licensing and enforcement of California’s real estate laws. They often respond quickly to consumer complaints they’ve received, such as those from aggrieved property managers and owners. The benefit of a government complaint is that it may only take a few days for the agency to investigate the situation and resolve your grievances. However, there is no guarantee that the property management company will be punished. Even if the company is fined, this may not give you the result you were looking for. Additionally, depending on the situation, it may take the agency several months to come to a conclusion regarding the complaint.
Selecting the Necessary Legal Counsel
When taking legal action against a property management organization, it is important to select an attorney who is skilled in this area of the law. Real estate attorneys or tenant rights lawyers may be particularly good choices. While you are not required to have legal representation to file a lawsuit, and sometimes individuals choose to represent themselves, doing so in most cases is not a good idea. Without proper training and experience, it may be difficult to win the suit or even to navigate the process effectively.
When selecting an attorney, you should go through the same process as you would for any other service that requires specialized knowledge. This starts by gathering as much information as possible about attorneys in your area who deal with landlord-tenant issues or real estate disputes. You can do this by searching online and asking other people you know for recommendations. Don’t concentrate only on attorneys who live very close to your home, as those who are easily accessible via public transportation may be well worth considering.
Keep in mind that you will not always be able to find someone with experience going head-to-head against the same property management company you are suing , as companies often employ large teams of attorneys. However, finding an attorney with experience dealing with that company’s practices can be beneficial.
Once you have narrowed down a list of possible choices, you can begin interviewing them one by one. Let them know that you are currently involved in a dispute with a property management company, as they may want to know certain details that you are not comfortable sharing just yet. Ask them about their experience with similar cases, including the outcomes. Also, make sure to inquire about their fees and payment policies.
Don’t stop there, however. Once you have a list of several candidates to consider, you can go online and look for reviews of those attorneys from their previous clients. In particular, examine the resolution of any cases they handled against the same real estate management company. Be sure to read the details of their assessments carefully, as you want to know what happened on both sides of the procedural fence.
It’s also a good idea to check with the state bar association to ensure that the attorney you are interested in hiring does not have any complaints or disciplinary actions against them.
Navigating the Legal Process
General Steps in Taking Legal Action
A lawsuit is filed by submitting a complaint to the court and then serving the defendant with a copy of the complaint. The complaint takes the form of a summons, which notifies the defendant that a lawsuit has been filed against them. The summons explains the reason for the lawsuit and orders the defendant to appear in court. It also states when to appear.
If a settlement cannot be reached, the matter may proceed to trial. Depending on the complexity of the case, trial procedures can take a few weeks or longer.
Your lawyer will present evidence of your damages, such as medical bills and records, invoices for repair or cleaning services, and/or documents that support your claim of lost wages. The landlord’s attorneys will present their version of events.
The judge will evaluate the evidence and base his or her decision on the merits of the arguments presented. In a jury trial, the judge will instruct the jurors to base their finding on the evidence, not on emotion about any aspect of the case. In either type of procedure, if you win your case, then the judge or jury will base your award on two factors: (1) the value of your damages and (2) the nature of the conduct of the defendant.
Important Considerations
While it is not possible to predict the outcome of your case, your lawyer should be able to give you a realistic idea. He or she will be able to assess the strengths and weaknesses of your case; whether the timing of the claim applies; and if there is a similar case on record. The cost of taking legal action also varies by the particular circumstances of the case.
There are various factors that determine the length of time it takes for your case to reach resolution. For example, the time such trials tend to take vary. Breach of contract cases are likely to take less time than personal injury cases, which may involve extensive property damage. After the lawsuit is filed, your lawyer will prepare to present your documents and evidence to the court.
It is generally a good idea to have an attorney who can guide you through your case, especially when dealing with more complicated property management company issues.
Proactive Approaches for the Future
Preventive measures for the future: It is important that, in all circumstances in which the tenant or property owner will contract out the maintenance or management of their real estate assets, that their contract with the service provider includes appropriate clauses which will ensure that the tenant or the property owner does not lose out if there is something that goes wrong. This should be particularly so given the further proceedings that may ensue if the service provider is put into administration or otherwise become insolvent which may mean the tenants or the property owners have no recourse. These types of matters can be addressed by appropriate clauses in their contract with the service provider. In addition , it is imperative that tenants and property owners exercise an appropriate degree of care in reviewing their contracts with their service providers and identifying any possible exposure that they may have (and obtaining recourse if appropriate) should something unforeseen occur. Apart from simply including appropriate clauses in their contract with their service providers tenants and property owners also need to take steps to ensure that they are proactive in ensuring that their service providers are acting within the four corners of their employment and their obligations under their contract with them. This is particularly so given that the tenant’s or property owner’s obligations will also be affected if the service provider fails to meet one of its obligations to the tenant or the property owner. In the case of directors it is important that they, as a minimum, review the material which is presented to them and satisfy themselves that it is correct (and should seek external clarification where they deem it necessary). It may even be appropriate for them to attend meetings of the management body or the service provider to ensure they are kept up to date. It may also be appropriate for the tenant or the owner to report to the board of the service provider matters which they believe may be of concern to the service provider.