Illegal Landlord Actions to Watch Out For

There are many undeniable benefits to renting a property, including greater flexibility, no maintenance costs, and access to essential amenities. Finding a property that matches your specific needs and budget is always a great feeling, especially when your landlord is welcoming, responsive, and courteous.

Unfortunately, not all landlords are trustworthy. Many perform actions that violate the rights of tenants. In this blog post, we will highlight some of the most common illegal landlord actions that occur.

These include entering without proper notice, unlawful tenant evictions, unjustifiable rent increases, and tenant discrimination. If you want to learn more, then keep reading!

Entering Without Proper Notice

Just because the property belongs to a landlord, it does not mean they can enter whenever they like. The notice must be given to the tenant, which must outline the reason for access. In Maryland, there is nothing in the law that specifies a specific time period, but 24 hours notice is common.

This does change in the case of an emergency, where a landlord has a legal right to enter a property. This is allowed so as to ascertain the security of both the property and the occupants.

Unlawful Tenant Evictions

There are a number of different reasons a landlord can give for evicting a tenant. However, they must give due notice and go through the proper legal channels.

If a landlord does not follow the correct protocol for evictions, there are a number of legal challenges they could face. Tenants who suffer as a result of their landlord violating housing laws may be entitled to monetary damages.

Unjustifiable Rent Increases

A lease is regarded as a legally binding contract and there are very few circumstances that allow for a landlord to raise the rent once it has been signed.

Certain conditions would have to be met for a landlord to be able to increase the rent justifiably. These include the addition of a pet, a new tenant joining the household, and following significant remodels of the property.

Tenant Discrimination

Under the Fair Housing Act of 1968, landlords are forbidden from refusing to rent to an applicant based on a range of factors, including their color, race, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, familial status, or disability.

The Act is enforced at the federal level and state laws are unable to reduce the protections provided under it.