Rental license under LLC, but property owned in personal name

[Ross Yeager]

One of my properties is a rental property in Philadelphia, PA. I also have an LLC, but this property is not owned by the LLC (separate discussion). I currently have the property management, rental licenses, all under my LLC, but the property itself is not owned by the LLC.

1) Is there anything fundamentally wrong with that (separate from the fact that I have personal liability on the property since it is in my name)? In other words, is the LLC able to have a rental license on a property that is not "owned" by the LLC?

2) Assuming that is OK, do I get any additional liability protection from the LLC holding the rental license, or is that all based on the property owner? I imagine it exclusively has to do with the owner, but figured I'd ask.

[Steve Babiak]

The LLC is supposed to be a separate entity from you as a person. So I don't understand how some management company has an agreement with any LLC that does not own the property, for one thing - that in itself conveys no management rights since the LLC has no ownership. Your LLC's management agreement for this property IMO is just a worthless piece of paper when push comes to shove.

If you own the property in your personal name, you do EVERYTHING in your personal name - hiring management, getting insurance, getting licenses, hiring contractors, paying bills, etc. And when your LLC owns a property, you likewise do EVERYTHING in the name of the LLC (including getting separate bank accounts and tax ID for the LLC). It's a very simple rule to follow to stay legal.