Landlord Tried for Renting to Illegal Immigrants

Here's an interesting article from Apartment Finance Today

The message is clear: be careful whom you rent to - and whom you hire as a property manager or apartment manager. The government is continuing to crack down on illegal immigration and this can impact real estate investors in a big way.

On June 23 in Lexington, KY, landlord William Jerry Hadden and his son Jamey are being tried in federal court, for charges of 24 counts each of harboring illegal aliens and encouraging illegal immigrants to remain in the country.

This precedent means that landlords all over the country can be charged under federal law for renting apartments to illegal immigrants.

Hadden could lose his properties (2 apartments totaling 165 units and worth about $5 million) in addition to facing jail time.

According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, this case seems to be the first time the federal government has tried to prosecute landlords for renting to illegal immigrants.

So for all you rental property owners, it looks like we all have to be more careful than ever in doing background checks or making sure that our property managers are doing background checks.