Speaker 1:
Hello and welcome to our show what about the long I'm attorney Sean Richardson I practiced law here in Ringgold Georgia focusing most of my private and personal injury litigation hi hello my co hosts attorney Marshall bandy deliver this show to W. A. A. K. radio as a public service attending this plan in late terms Sanderson issues within the law that everyday folks are most likely to encounter sometimes we expand our discussions and other professional areas areas that we believe our listeners will find helpful accordingly if you are professionally like to be a guest on our show please call us at seven zero six nine three five two two zero one or email us at what about the law edgy mail dot com likewise if you are a listener and would like us to address a specific topic or issue we also encourage you to call us at seven zero six nine three five two two zero one or email us at what about the law at G. mail dot com today's show is about landlord and tenants.
Speaker 2:
Landlord and tenant Sean what is a landlord.
Speaker 1:
A landlord is a person who owns a property and rents it out to somebody else use of the residents.
Speaker 2:
And what is a tenant.
Speaker 1:
At ten it would be the person who rents the residence to be their own.
Speaker 2:
And what is the relationship between landlord and tenant what would you call it.
Speaker 1:
I would call it a contractual relationship and for most of you the word for that would be lease you you have a lessor and a lessee.
Speaker 1:
And you take that property to be a resident residence pursuant to the terms of the lease you signed with the landlord.
Speaker 2:
So if I see you what's the difference in a lease and just being a writer a writer.
Speaker 1:
Well if you have a lease the terms of your of your residency there hundred are pursuant to that lease and the landlord the tenant in theory at least can bargain for whatever those terms are now ready to lease is a.
Speaker 2:
Written document.
Speaker 1:
Yeah it's a contract it is a contract.
Speaker 2:
And.
Speaker 2:
But you can also have a tenant contract I'm gonna mention something that's just kind of falling over the top of your head in Georgia you cannot have a lease for less than twelve months.
Speaker 2:
A lady a rental agreement is an agreement for less than twelve months but at least has a that not only is it raining and Ronnie but it's not a lease unless it lasts for twelve months and George just a little piece of insignificant information.
Speaker 1:
Well that's what we're here to provide.
Speaker 2:
That's right.
Speaker 2:
So if you say you are leasing a piece of property from somebody and you've met the landlord you shaken his hand and you've given him the first month's rent.
Speaker 2:
Now you have not least the property.
Speaker 1:
Until you sign in name on the dotted line.
Speaker 2:
The track.
Speaker 2:
And.
Speaker 2:
So anyway the rental agreement is for a.
Speaker 2:
There are certain things that are set by statute.
Speaker 1:
Right.
Speaker 1:
In in Georgia the law gives a lessor and lessee broad discretion in what they can put in the in their own lease right.
Speaker 2:
Right.
Speaker 1:
State law generally kicks in for most people when there is not a written lease in effect or that lease is not cover some particular area that happens to come into dispute.
Speaker 2:
Oh by the way we now have an email address.
Speaker 2:
The email address is what about the law at G. mail dot com.
Speaker 1:
See how quickly we were here.
Speaker 2:
Yeah this is called rapid.
Speaker 1:
Rapid light speed might be magically we work at the office.
Speaker 2:
Yeah.
Speaker 2:
We will go there.
Speaker 1:
The landlord a tenant subject you know there's a lot of things we can cover and I thought maybe it's wise that we start with the things that we get the most calls on in the office.
Speaker 2:
Our dogs cats.
Speaker 2:
Can I park my car on the.
Speaker 2:
On the lawn.
Speaker 2:
You know all those things are and a lot of times these things are spelled out in a lease sometimes they are.
Speaker 2:
But when you read a piece of property and you're the tenant.
Speaker 2:
For that period of time you're the dominant.
Speaker 2:
Party.
Speaker 1:
In your.
Speaker 2:
Cars as far as that.
Speaker 1:
Property is concerned you take exclusive control in right of the property that's right and he has it own it during that period.
Speaker 2:
And you can do anything with that property that the owner can do.
Speaker 1:
You can unless otherwise stipulated in all these.
Speaker 2:
Right well you could cut the temper you can't do that if you if you lease forty acres of land and you had forty acres of timber you better not cut the timbre and solid up and sell it and then I'll let you do that.
Speaker 1:
Well you you can do it just say about ninety percent of the money you make because you're gonna need to send that to form a check to our office landlord talks to do next.
Speaker 2:
That's right.
Speaker 2:
So but it but you can if you want to park the car in the yard you can park the car in the yard a fella you know that there's a lot of there's a lot of thanks it's kind of like a live tennis in some respects but you're not responsible for the taxes that landlords responsible for the taxes.
Speaker 2:
That's if there is no agreement sometimes you can enter and there are agreements were a little the tenant has to pay the taxes a lot of commercial leases provide that day tenant provides the taxes.
Speaker 1:
In that comes up often times what I'll get phone calls from somebody who's you know the child was attacked by a dog from you know who resides at the neighbor's house and the neighbor is a renter in you know who do I have a claiming it says of the renter or the owner well the answer is the renter because whether interest there that's their homes under their exclusive control on their property and unfortunately for the people who make those calls to me.
Speaker 1:
My answer is usually unless they have renters insurance you're probably have no solvent entity to go after those the landlords homeowners insurance is not going to pot because there's a renter there.
Speaker 2:
There is a there is no security deposit limit in Georgia some states have a security deposit limit so if a person wants to charge you a thousand dollars as a security deposit that's perfectly within their rights.
Speaker 2:
Also there are a lot of times situations between the landlord and tenant.
Speaker 2:
Did they get the check.
Speaker 2:
And.
Speaker 1:
You know.
Speaker 2:
What what is the customary provision of getting the check do you mail it do you handle ever does a landlord come and get it.
Speaker 2:
Of whatever the normal behavior is between those two parties you know it it's just like how easy it would be for a landlord to say well I didn't get the check so you're gonna have to move but you put the check in the mail today then that becomes a a swearing match between the tenant and the landlord did you pay the rent.
Speaker 1:
And again usually at least will spell out exactly how rent is to be paid in what form and where nowadays you're seeing a lot of landlords who are wanting to do everything electronically they use a third party to have payments received and submitted to them in other words the runner goes online and pays by check card or credit card to a third party vendor who then.
Speaker 1:
Transfer the money over to landlord which is great in the sense that there is no dispute as to whether or not it was paid you got on there and you pay or you did.
Speaker 1:
But again you can spell all this out Millie's.
Speaker 1:
A lot of these issues arise when you don't have a spot on the lease and people are just depending on the normal.
Speaker 1:
Behaviors and customary ways of doing things.
Speaker 2:
The M..
Speaker 2:
The statement that I made a few minutes ago about.
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Police having to be