How to become a landlord in Louisiana

Before and during a residential lease, you must disclose in writing any pending foreclosure on the home and the tenant's right to be notified of a foreclosure. Before taking an application fee, give the written application fee notice (La. R.S. 9:3260.1; La. R.S. 9:3258.1).

• Within seven calendar days after you are served with a notice of seizure in a foreclosure, give every tenant a signed written notice naming the court, case name and docket number, with the statement the law sets out saying it is not a notice to vacate (La. R.S. 9:3260.1).
• A tenant who proves a violation of the foreclosure rule recovers $200 in damages on top of any other remedies (La. R.S. 9:3260.1).
• The application fee notice must list the fee, the screening factors you consider and the hardship statement option (La. R.S. 9:3258.1).See Application and screening fees on the Louisiana page
• If the lease gives the tenant an option to buy, the Residential Property Disclosure Act applies, so complete the Real Estate Commission's property disclosure document and deliver it no later than when the tenant exercises the option (La. R.S. 9:3197; La. R.S. 9:3198).

Louisiana's lease laws do not require you to disclose the owner's or manager's name and address to the tenant. Give the tenant an address for paying rent, though: without one, rent is payable at the tenant's address (La. Civ. Code art. 2703).

• The Civil Code lease title and the Revised Statutes lease sections contain no owner or agent disclosure rule (La. Civ. Code arts. 2668 to 2729; La. R.S. 9:3251 to 9:3261.2).

None of the Louisiana laws read for this page requires a flood disclosure in a residential lease. R.S. 9:3258, sometimes cited for one, is the lessor's property rights section and requires no disclosure (La. R.S. 9:3258).

• Laws outside the sections read were not searched for a flood disclosure duty (La. R.S. 9:3258).

Every existing one- or two-family dwelling must have, at the time it is leased, at least an operable smoke detector with a ten-year sealed lithium battery and an operable carbon monoxide detector with a long-life sealed battery. The two may be combined in one device (La. R.S. 40:1581).

• Larger buildings are covered by state fire marshal rules and building codes, which were not read for this page (La. R.S. 40:1575).

Louisiana's lease laws set no rule on locks, rekeying or other security devices (La. Civ. Code arts. 2668 to 2729).

• The general duty to keep the home suitable for its purpose and free of defects still applies (La. Civ. Code art. 2682; La. Civ. Code art. 2696).See Repairs and habitability on the Louisiana page

Louisiana does not cap the amount of a security deposit. Its deposit law covers what happens to the deposit, not how large it may be (La. R.S. 9:3251 to 9:3254).

• If you sell or transfer the property during a lease, you must pass the deposit on to the new owner, who then becomes responsible for returning it; once you do, you are released from liability for it (La. R.S. 9:3251).
• Any waiver of the tenant's deposit rights is null and void, so a lease clause giving them up has no effect (La. R.S. 9:3254).
• If you sell the home during a lease, the lease does not end, but the buyer is bound by your lease obligations only if the buyer assumes them, a lease affects third persons such as a buyer only from the time it is filed for registry, and the tenant can recover from you any loss the sale causes (La. Civ. Code art. 2711; La. Civ. Code art. 2712; La. Civ. Code art. 2681.1).

Louisiana does not require you to hold the deposit in a separate account or to pay interest on it (La. R.S. 9:3251 to 9:3254).

• The deposit sections address only return, transfer on sale, penalties and waiver; none mentions a bank account, a trust account or interest (La. R.S. 9:3251 to 9:3254).

Louisiana requires no move-in checklist or inspection form. You must deliver the home on time and in good condition suitable for living in, and the tenant must return it in the same condition, except for normal wear and tear (La. Civ. Code art. 2683; La. Civ. Code art. 2684).

• Because the tenant's return duty is measured against the condition at delivery, a dated record of that condition is your best evidence when you keep part of the deposit (La. Civ. Code art. 2683; La. R.S. 9:3251).
• Unless you agree otherwise, a tenant may remove improvements they made if they restore the home; for improvements left behind, you may reimburse the lesser of their cost or added value, or demand removal within a reasonable time (La. Civ. Code art. 2695).

Before you accept an application fee, you must give the applicant written notice of the fee amount; whether you consider credit scores, employment history, criminal history or eviction records; and that the applicant may share a statement of 200 words or less about financial hardship from a declared disaster or emergency. The hardship notice must mention the COVID-19 pandemic and hurricanes (La. R.S. 9:3258.1).

• The rule covers every lessor of a home the tenant will use as a primary residence, except an owner-occupied building of no more than four units (La. R.S. 9:3258.1).
• The notice may be delivered, stored and shown electronically if the method meets the Louisiana Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (La. R.S. 9:3258.1).
• The law gives no one a right to sue over a violation of this section, and the sections read set no limit on the amount of the fee (La. R.S. 9:3258.1).