How to protect yourself as a Landlord during COVID-19
Landlords have been some of the hardest hit professionals during this year’s pandemic. They have lost millions of dollars from unpaid rents and extended vacancies. These men and women also have to face a new regulatory environment with the laws passed by the federal government to deal with the pandemic. New regulations can be almost as stressful and debilitating as dealing with the specific losses from sicknesses and the related economic downturn. But a small upfront investment and some time with a Fairless Hills PA real estate attorney can ensure that a landlord loses as little money as possible during these challenging times.
Know the law
Many details of the recent CARES Act are not immediately discernible to the average individual. Landlords should take an extra amount of time and effort to figure out exactly how the law applies to them. They need to realize that the law is beneficial to tenants but does not give them the ability to do whatever they want. Most tenants still have to pay their rent on a regular schedule and have to follow all relevant laws if they are not directly affected by the coronavirus. No matter the situation, knowing about these concepts helps landlords figure out exactly how they should talk to their tenants.
Apply for funding programs
There are a wide variety of protections for businesses in the recent stimulus laws that landlords can take advantage of and that a real estate lawyer Fairless Hills PA would know about. A large number of landlords are their own small businesses. As small businesses, they often hire workers and have people whose jobs are dependent on their income. These jobs would have gone away without financial support in many instances.
Therefore, it is often possible for landlords to take advantage of loans and financial support payments that were authorized when the original act was passed. Companies can receive loans that help them meet expenses if they agree not to lay off employees. They can receive even more benefits if they show a direct set of losses from the coronavirus. These loans can sometimes reach into the tens of thousands of dollars. They are certainly worth any individual or landlord company contacting a Bucks County real estate attorney like those at the Olen Law Office in order to make sure they know how the law applies to them.
Have contingency plans
Landlords are often people who need a plan when they go into business. Nearly anything can happen when a person is in charge of the living arrangements of other people. The same is true for the coronavirus. Landlords need to have sophisticated, detailed plans, approved by a real estate lawyer Bucks County, for the ways in which they will respond whenever one of their tenants or employees contracts the virus. They should ensure that whatever response they have does not run afoul of privacy regulations. A landlord cannot openly talk to other tenants about a person who has contracted the coronavirus that they know of.
Landlords have to have a script for what exactly they should say and how they should respond if one of their tenants cannot pay rent because they are sick. The presence of the coronavirus does not mean that everybody in an apartment building is exempt from paying rent. But there are strict laws surrounding who has to pay and when those payments have to occur. Planning with the aid of a Bucks County real estate lawyer helps ensure that landlords work according to those laws.
Conclusion
Any landlord who is worried about the effect the pandemic will have on their property needs to talk to a real estate attorney Bucks County and weigh their options. They should try to secure as much money from the federal government as they can to offset their losses. Landlords should also ensure that they can plan for the many ways that their tenants may be positively or negatively affected by the pandemic. Knowledge and prudence are essential for any landlord that believes they can survive this rough economy here.