50% Say DC’s Laws Mean They Won’t Become Landlords

• June 16, 2014

by Lark Turner

Last week we asked if DC’s tenant laws, generally perceived as especially tenant-friendly, would deter you from renting out property you own.

Approximately 50 percent of the few hundred respondents suggested that yes, the city’s laws acted as a deterrent for would-be landlords.

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One reader called the laws “an abomination” of property rights; another said a bad experience put them off of renting for good. “I have 2 terrible tenants and will NEVER rent a property in DC,” the reader said.

While half of the respondents said they didn’t plan to rent their property, the rest responded either that they would rent anyway (43 percent) or offered another opinion (7 percent).

One of the respondents who said they rented their property regardless suggested that renters are paying for the laws in ways they perhaps don’t realize. “I charge a higher rent than I otherwise would due to DC’s tenant-friendly laws,” the landlord said. Another echoed that point, saying, “I charge more rent to offset the potential headaches.”

Others said the laws made them more cautious in selecting tenants. One said they’d only rent to relatives and friends; another operated with strict credit checks. Still others suggested they rented, but the laws made them much more stressed about doing so.

“I would rent if I had to, but I would hate it,” a respondent said.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/50_percent_of_readers_say_tenant-friendly_laws_mean_they_wont_rent/8620