Justice Department Sues Owner, Manager of Rental Properties for Sexual Harassment of Female Tenant
The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit alleging that the owner and manager of rental properties in Davenport, Iowa violated the Fair Housing Act by subjecting a female tenant to sexual harassment and retaliation,...
Property Management Companies, Others Sue Seattle Over Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone
Property management companies in Seattle and other businesses have filed a class-action suit in federal court against the City of Seattle over the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), claiming the city “enabled the widespread...
Lawsuit Seeks To Allow Landlords To Start Evicting Tenants
A lawsuit has been filed in California that seeks to overturn an emergency order that prohibits landlords from evicting tenants who can pay rent but refuse, or who create a nuisance or safety hazard,...
Property Management Company to Pay Tenants $300,000 to Settle Eviction Moratorium Lawsuit
JRK Residential Group violated the Washington eviction moratorium by threatening tenants and starting to evict 14 of them, and will pay $350,000 to settle a lawsuit, according to a release from Washington Attorney General...
Handling Maintenance Issues During a Pandemic: A Legal Perspective
Are there legal issues for a landlord around handling maintenance issues during a pandemic? Attorney Brad Kraus takes on that issue this month.
Bradley S. Kraus
Attorney at Law, Warren Allen, LLP
By now, many of us...
Seattle Adds an Inability-to-Pay Defense to Eviction Protection For Six Months
In an effort to provide renters with more protection against evictions, the Seattle City Council created an inability-to-pay defense that renters can use in eviction court for six months after the city’s eviction moratorium...
Unintended Issues Presented by COVID-19 Moratoria
Bradley S. Kraus
Attorney at Law, Warren Allen, LLP
There is an old saying often uttered by attorneys: “Bad facts make bad law.” If COVID-19 has taught landlords anything, it can be summarized by playing off...
Seattle Landlords Lose First-Come, First-Served Case Petition
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Seattle landlords’ appeal of the controversial first-come, first-served law, requiring landlords to accept the first qualified tenant who applies and clearing the way for the rule to...
Oregon Landlords Ask Governor Not to Allow Forgiveness of Rent, Mortgages
The top landlord group in Oregon has written the governor asking her to “please ignore the misguided and uninformed correspondence“ from the Portland City Council letter requesting forgiveness of rent and mortgage payments due...
COVID-19: Landlord/Tenant Law in the Age of Global Pandemic
By Bradley S. Kraus
Attorney at Law, Warren Allen, LLP
Much like everything else in the world, the relationship between landlords and tenants changed dramatically with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For the first time, I...