The legal forms and state rules every landlord and property manager needs

To keep up with the law and make money as a residential landlord, you need a guide you can trust: Every Landlord’s Legal Guide.

From move-in to move-out, here’s help with legal, financial, and day-to-day issues. You’ll avoid hassles and headaches—not to mention legal fees and lawsuits. Use this top-selling book to:

screen and choose tenants

prepare leases and rental agreements

avoid discrimination, invasion of privacy, personal injury, and other lawsuits

hire a property manager

keep up with repairs and maintenance

make security deposit deductions

handle broken leases

learn how to terminate a tenancy for nonpayment of rent or other lease violations

restrict tenants from renting their place on Airbnb, and

deal with bed bugs, mold, and lead hazards.

The 17th edition is completely updated to provide your state’s current laws on security deposits, rent, entry, termination, late rent notices, and more. It also provides tips and guidance to help landlords navigate new state and local laws on screening tenants.

Attorneys Ann O’Connell, a Nolo editor and real estate broker, and Janet Portman, Nolo’s Executive Editor, specialize in landlord-tenant law. Together, they are also co-authors of Leases and Rental Agreements and Every Tenant’s Legal Guide.

Author Biography

O’Connell Janet Portman, an attorney and Nolo’s executive editor, specializes in residential and commercial landlord/tenant law. She is the author or coauthor of Every Landlord’s Legal Guide, Every Tenant’s Legal Guide, Renters’ Rights, Leases & Rental Agreements, The California Landlord’s Law Book: Rights and Responsibilities, and others. Portman received undergraduate and graduate degrees from Stanford University and a law degree from Santa Clara University. As a practicing attorney, she specialized in criminal defense before joining Nolo.

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