Property law is based on two different types of property. Personal property and real property. Personal property belongs to a category of moveable objects such as clothes, smartphones, and household furnishings.
Real property is land and is commonly thought of as either residential or commercial property. In truth, when it comes to real property there is so much more.
State laws control real property rights
Each state enacts its own property laws and regulations with respect to all property within its borders. The state imposes exclusive jurisdiction over those real properties within its state.
Not only do different states enact laws governing the buying and selling of real property, but their courts also preside over matters such as zoning and land use, boundary disputes, landlord-tenant conflicts, and foreclosure. (See Below Discussion on Foreclosure)
Real Property Disputes And Land Use Laws
This introductory article to property law focuses entirely on real property law.
Real property can be either developed or undeveloped land owned by public or private interests. Real property is commonly divided into parcels, including everything permanently affixed to them.
Right To Possess Property – Ejectment
Owners of real property possess and have enforceable legal rights to their property. They include the right to sell, transfer, bequeath, encumber, develop, and perhaps most importantly, the right to possess and enjoy their property in privacy and solitude.
However, along with these rights are the competing rights of other property owners, including those that rent and occupy those properties.
When a property owner’s rights conflict with another property owner’s rights, the parties must either informally resolve their differences or adjudicate them under the laws of their state.
Property disputes occur between different types of property holders asserting or defending their rights based upon different types of legal claims.
Fence and Legal Boundry Disputes
Unsurprisingly, most residential disputes come from property owners living within the same community. The most common residential disputes arise between neighbors sharing adjoining property lines. Such as battling over the placement or removal of fences, noise disturbances, and obstructed views caused by newly added structures and overgrown tree lines.
Some disputes are resolved informally between neighbors. Other neighbors choose to resolve their differences through mediation, while others want to battle it out in state court.
Renting A New Apartment – Tenant’s Rights
Landlords and tenants have their own types of property disputes. Under this section, you will find helpful articles that describe the legal rights and obligations between landlords and tenants.
Among other obligations, landlords must provide the tenant with a legally habitable and safe premise, irrespective of the amount the tenant pays in rent. The tenant also has the right to privacy and to the quiet enjoyment of their living space.
Tenant’s Right To Conduct Walk-Through
Before signing the lease, most states provide the tenant with the right to conduct a walk-through inspection of the apartment with the landlord or apartment manager.
This is one of the most important rights a tenant has mainly because it will determine the tenant’s right to receive back their full security deposit as discussed below.
Security Deposits
In most lease agreements, the landlord will require the tenant to pay a security deposit, which the landlord is obligated to return when the tenant vacates the premises.
So long as the tenant leaves the premises in the same physical condition the property was in when the tenant initially took possession of the property. The landlord is prohibited from deducting from the tenant’s security deposit for reasonable wear and tear.
Leases Verse Month-To-Month
This section provides helpful articles on the different types of property rental agreements. One essential rental term contained in all rental agreements is the duration of the tenancy.
For example, some rental agreements are month-month. Others are based on a fixed term of months or years. You’ll also learn under what circumstances a verbal rental agreement can be legally enforceable.
Different rental agreements contain different terms and conditions, such as the tenant’s obligation to pay for their utility bills and parking space. Some landlords don’t allow pets; others permit pets but require the payment of an additional security deposit.
Most rental agreements now require the tenant to purchase their own renter’s insurance, including flood insurance.
Eviction of Tenant
In exchange for the tenant’s right to occupy the landlord’s property, the tenant is legally obligated to pay the agreed-upon rent within the agreed-upon time as specified by the rental agreement.
The tenant is also expected to comply with all the express and material terms of the lease, such as not causing a nuisance or interfering with the rights of other tenants.
When there is a material breach of the rental agreement, such as the tenant’s failure to pay their rent, the landlord has the legal right to evict the tenant. Here, you will find informative articles on the required legal process that must be followed by the landlord or face civil penalties.
Landlord Self-Help Is Strictly Prohibited
For example, under law, a landlord may not engage in self-help such as forcibly removing the tenant from the premises, removing the tenant’s furniture and other personal belongings, or changing the locks to the tenant’s premises.
Even when the eviction case concludes and the tenant receives the court’s official order to vacate the premises, the landlord is still prohibited from engaging in any form of self-help, such as physically and forcibly removing the tenant, nor can the landlord hire another person to remove the tenant.
The landlord’s only legal recourse is to request the court to order the police to remove the tenant and, if the tenant resists, to arrest the tenant for violating a court order.
Home Foreclosure
Going through the threat of home foreclosure is a painful and confusing process. But knowing your legal rights and finding the proper legal counsel to represent you will significantly improve your chances of not losing your home to foreclosure.
Our home foreclosure articles will help you understand your legal rights as a homeowner and the legal options available to you. For example, there are different ways to avoid or stop home foreclosure by dealing directly with your lender.
Foreclosure Defense Lawyer Can Negotiate With Your Lender
Under the right circumstances, your lawyer may be able to approach your mortgage lender and negotiate a favorable mortgage modification that will allow you to keep your home by extending the loan period, adjusting the interest rate, and reducing the amount of your monthly mortgage payment.
Other lender options may include suspending your monthly payments for a specific length of time. This process, known as forbearance, is intended to give the homeowner additional time to seek out additonal income and to consult with an approved credit counselor to help develop a suitable repayment plan.
Helpful services
In our property law helpful services articles, you will have online access to different types of property law attorneys, such as landlord-tenant and foreclosure defense lawyers.
If you cannot afford an attorney, you will find links that connect you to public assistance and legal aid services.
Should you have to relocate, we provide online access to local movers and storage services. We also provide links to mortgage brokers who might be able to assist you with additional options that fit best with your short and long-term financial needs.
Going through a foreclosure is stressful enough. But add to this the stress also having to relocate, and you can find yourself so emotionally rundown that you could reach a state of emotional exhaustion and depression.
It can feel as if you are running on empty, a very dangerous state to reach. Escalating stress and anxiety over prolonged periods of time can lead to clinical depression. For this reason, we encourage you to consider reaching out to mental health professionals as soon as possible.
