July 20th, 2023
July 20th, 2023
With renting continue to increase in popularity as property ownership remains out of reach for many, it is crucially important that tenants be well informed and know their rights and responsibilities as a renter. This way, they are able to handle disputes with their landlords and ensure that they receive the fair treatment that they deserve. Governed by state and federal law, tenants' rights are a series of non-negotiable, or mandatory, landlord-tenant codes that spell out a tenant's rights to a safe and functional living space when renting a residential property. This guide explains six fundamental rights that every tenant should be familiar with and expect from their landlord.
Quiet enjoyment is a tenant's right to possess and use their rental accommodations without any undue or unreasonable interference from their landlord. A malfunctioning smoke alarm, persistent pest infestation issues, unannounced property inspections, and maintenance work continuing past the landlord's proposed deadline are all examples of common violations of this tenant's right. Further, if another tenant in the building is violating the tenant's right to quiet enjoyment, the landlord is responsible for taking reasonable measures to remedy the situation. However, what is disturbing to one tenant might be enjoyable to another. Courts have decided that a violation of quiet enjoyment must be one that is unreasonable to the average person. Things such as scheduled work repairs that proceed on course, sounds of the surrounding natural habitat like city traffic, phone calls and summons inquiring about overdue rent, and inspections that are routine and announced well in advance are all considered acceptable disturbances that, while potentially annoying, do not rise to the level of a legal nuisance and violation of the tenant's right to quiet enjoyment.
A tenant's remedy to the violation of this right depends on the law in the state where they are living. Many state and local laws allow tenants in these situations to withhold rent or move out without obligation to pay the remaining rent due under the lease. Before taking action, a tenant should try to collect evidence of the noise and disruption. They will need this in the event that the landlord tries to keep their security deposit when they move out or tries to sue them for breaking the lease.
One of the most important obligations of a landlord is maintaining the rental property in a habitable condition. The landlord is responsible for providing a rental to the tenant that meets basic standards required for a property to be deemed habitable, such as:
Comprehensive Residential Lease Agreements generally categorize repair issues into normal wear and tear, negligent damage, and excessive damage. The agreement then assigns the repair work responsibilities accordingly.
There is a fine line between what is considered normal wear and tear that is the responsibility of the landlord to fix and damage caused by the tenant. For example, this is how one might look at the issue of a malfunctioning heating system:
1. Inefficient heating of the rental unit due to a deteriorating heating system -- This is normal wear and tear since mechanical components have a limited lifespan. It is the responsibility of the landlord to provide regular maintenance and replace a malfunctioning old heating system with a new one.
2. Inefficient heating of the rental unit due to a heater broken intentionally or accidentally by the tenant -- A heater broken due to the tenant's actions is a kind of damage caused by the tenant's negligence and is the tenant's responsibility to fix. The tenant must pay for the repairs and, if they fail to do so, the landlord can deduct repair costs from the security deposit.
For more detailed information, please see our legal guide "In the Lease Agreement, who has the Duty to Maintain and Repair?".
In the event of a landlord's failure to meet the requirement of providing a habitable residence by refusing to make necessary repairs, a tenant has several options for recourse. The most common options are withholding rent payments entirely, making repairs and then deducting the cost from the rent payment, moving out of the rental, or taking legal action against the landlord.
Rent control laws are regulations that set a price ceiling, or maximum, on the amount a landlord can legally demand in exchange for leasing their property to a tenant. Rent control laws are different from state to state and rent control is not common. In fact, 37 states expressly forbid the enactment of rental control measures. For states without rent control laws, landlords have the right to increase a tenant's rent by any amount they choose. However, there are still rules that landlords must follow when trying to increase rent. For example, for tenants housed under a written lease agreement, the landlord may not increase the rent until either the end of the lease period or as dictated in the agreement. Under month-to-month lease agreements, the landlord may raise the rent by providing a prior notice for a rent increase. Notice for rent increase varies from state to state, but most states require that landlords provide at least 30 days of notice before increasing the rent. Also, the rent increase notice must be in writing; in some states, certified mail is required. Oral notices are ineffective in most states and, unless the tenant specifically agrees to the rent increase, they are not obligated to pay it. No matter what, landlords are not allowed to arbitrarily increase the rent whenever they please outside of the terms of the agreement or the end of the lease period.
The Fair Housing Act is a federal law that prohibits housing discrimination, with the goal of ensuring fair treatment and equal housing opportunities throughout the United States. Under this law, a potential tenant's rental application cannot be arbitrarily refused because of the potential tenant's race, nationality, sex, familial status, religion, or disability status. The Fair Housing Act applies to most kinds of housing. However, in very limited circumstances, the Act exempted buildings that are occupied by the owner and have no more than four units or single-family houses that are being rented by the owner without the use of an agent.
It is illegal discrimination to take any of the following actions because of a tenant's race, religion, sex, disability status, familial status, or nationality:
If a tenant fails to comply with the lease agreement and breaches it by, for example, having pets in violation of the lease or failing to pay rent on time, the landlord can then start the eviction process. However, even when the tenant is going through the eviction process, they are still owed basic rights from the landlord. The eviction process includes the serving of a formal eviction notice which details the notice period within which tenants must vacate the rental property. Landlords must file this notice with their local housing court before ordering the tenant to vacate the property. Tenants also have the right to fight against eviction in court. They are not required to vacate the rental property before the conclusion of the eviction proceedings and the judge's final ruling on the matter. Eviction rules are very different from state to state. Some states allow tenants the right to remedy their breach of a rental agreement within a certain period of time. Other states allow landlords to pursue eviction regardless of the correction of the lease violations. No matter the state, though, there is a required process the landlord must go through before they are able to evict a tenant. They cannot just change the locks and put the tenant's belongings out on the street. For more detailed information about the eviction process, please see the guide How a Landlord Can Evict a Tenant.
Most states set limits on security deposits that landlords may require of tenants, as well as specify when and how those security deposits must be returned. Laws in some states may also require that landlords pay interest on deposits or disclose to tenants at or near the time they collect the deposit where the deposit will be held. Under most state landlord-tenant laws, landlords are required to return a security deposit to the tenant within 30 days of the end of the lease. Unless the landlord deducts the cost of damages and unpaid rent from the deposit, the deposit must be returned in full. If the landlord does make deductions, they must provide the tenant with an itemized list of the deductions within the 30-day deadline. If the landlord does not refund the security deposit or fails to provide a list of deductions upon returning a deducted deposit, the tenant has the right to recover the deposit by taking legal action against the landlord. For more information about getting a security deposit returned, please see the guide How to Get Your Security Deposit Back.
For a renter to successfully assert their renters' rights, it is crucial that they are knowledgeable about state laws and how they guarantee their right to a habitable residence and fair treatment. Knowing their rights as a tenant along with an in-depth understanding of their rental agreement are essential for a healthy landlord-tenant relationship.
About the Author: Malissa Durham is a Legal Templates Programmer and Attorney at Wonder.Legal and is based in the U.S.A.