Do Real Estate Lawyers Handle Issues with Rental Properties?
Whether residential or commercial property is involved, the relationship between a landlord and tenant can be complicated. Moreover, the laws governing the landlord-tenant relationship are numerous and complex, making it difficult to resolve disagreements or issues when they do surface. If you foresee the need to retain the services of an attorney for your landlord-tenant issue, you may be wondering if real estate lawyers handle issues with rental properties. While there is no way to provide a universal answer to that question that will apply to every real estate lawyer, most real estate lawyers do, indeed, handle issues relating to rental properties.
The legal issues that tend to arise with rental properties can be similar to those that relate to non-rental real estate; however, there are also some common rental property issues that are unique to the landlord-tenant relationship. For example, both rental properties and real estate for sale require the use of a rental or purchase agreement to set forth the terms between the parties. Many of the disagreements or legal issues that arise with a rental property or with the sale of a property are ultimately resolved using the written agreement entered into by the parties. Although the terms of a contract for sale are different than the terms of a lease agreement, both depend on the law of contracts to resolve disputes should a disagreement arise.
Likewise, an attorney may also be needed should the issue of eviction come up with a rental property, or a foreclosure if dealing with an owner-occupied property. Once again, the issues are not exactly the same, but they are similar enough that a real estate attorney likely knows how to handle either one.
There are, however, legal issues that a landlord and/or tenant may face that do not come up with owner-occupied property. For example, a tenant may have problems getting a landlord to make necessary repairs to the property, or a landlord may have a problem with tenants violating specific terms of the lease, such as allowing too many people to live on the property. Typically, however, a real estate lawyer is still the best type of attorney to turn to because the issues they deal with on a regular basis are the most closely tied to real property.
Regardless of the specific type of legal issue you are facing as a landlord or tenant, it is likely that an experienced Pennsylvania real estate lawyer can help. Contact the real estate attorneys at Curley & Rothman, LLC by calling 610-834-8819 today to schedule your free consultation.