It's when you have a tenant complaint, a fire, or code violation and your inspections are not up to date, then it comes out that you're not in compliance and they hit you with a bigger bat.They may tweak the inspector requirement to a licensed inspector, you can look for that lobby to bounce in.

The Realtor forms will spell most everything out for you, offer both you and your tenant good and reasonable coverage and be in full compliance with all state laws as they've already been gone over (and created by) Washington State attorneys.

S8 tenants risk losing their housing benefit if they don't follow the terms of the rental agreement and the S8 program rules, so they have very good incentive to stay on track.The rental agreement that the tenant signs with the landlord must be in compliance with non-discrimination laws and other laws for the jurisdiction.

Most borrowers don't know what usury laws are, may not care, they may not know the lender is not in compliance and these "private" loans or deals often go undetected, but not always.

If you are serious, you need the compliance letter which of course costs money.

How is the building set up, equal sides in an open space, long and narrow, widthXlength can limit options or themes, it may not be a great dance floor or live dinner theater setting, lounge, etc.ADA compliance, how accessable is the basement, does it have more than one exit, an elevator?

Compliance is rigorous and the penalties can be ruinous because it was heavily abused in the late 1990s through early 2000s. 

I have heard 3 presentations by lawyers on this so far.If you do substantial remodel (whatever that means), you can give notice to the tenants, but then you need to pay them a months rent if they have been there over 12 months, unless your city is stricter.You also need to add stuff to your leases this year, to be in compliance.

My recommendation is for you to look into www.petscreening.com because they will ensure compliance with the law to protect you and your property but they will also weed out a lot of the fraud.

Contract For Deeds was mentioned above I believe, they are not allowed in Texas.David, do you have any formal training in law and compliance issues?