Another area in which you must be extremely careful in your management of a rental property is occupancy standards and discrimination. The anti-discrimination laws in Montgomery County, Maryland (MD) cover a much broader spectrum than just race and religion. Sex, physical or mental handicap, marital status and sexual orientation are just a few of the protected classes of people you could inadvertently discriminate against.

Should someone who looked at your property file discrimination claim, you must prove yourself innocent. This of course is just the opposite of a criminal claim where you must be proven guilty. Proving yourself innocent is a very difficult hurdle to jump. If you are charged with discrimination it is not you, your attorney, and your financial resources against the complainant, their attorney, and their financial resources. It is you against the government's attorneys and their unlimited financial resources.

Montgomery County maintains a department with the sole objective of pursuing discrimination claims. They publish a letter regularly, which outlines some of the cases that they handle. It documents the heavy fines and penalties levied against landlords, some of which are for seemingly minor offenses. Should you dissuade someone from applying to rent, or turn down their application, you had better be ready to give a legal reason for such action. Even an offhand comment or joke about sexual orientation or national ancestry in the presence of a prospective tenant is cause for a complaint.

Groups of unrelated people cannot be refused except under specifically defined financial reasons or overcrowding as defined by Montgomery County law. Hiring a professional property management company like RE/MAX Premiere Selections can help you avoid issues like this altogether. We have the knowledge and experience to avoid problems before they ever arise.