How is leasing various from home ownership?
What are my duties as a tenant?
What can I do to keep my rental home a healthy home?
What if I have an unhealthy condition in my rental home?
What are my rights as a tenant?
Fact sheets for occupants and renters during COVID-19
What about Residential Or Commercial Property Maintenance Codes?
What is URLTA?
What are the minimum requirements for rental housing?
Can I make a protest?
What if I reside in government assisted housing?
Does the USDA help with occupants in backwoods?
Where can I discover more about healthy housing policy?
Additional resources

* * * Our Healthy Homes personnel are not physicians or attorneys. The information on our Healthy Homes Website does not provide medical or legal guidance. This information is not a replacement for visiting your doctor or for seeking advice from a legal representative about your specific scenario. * * *

3 Actions a Concerned Renter Should Do:

1. Put whatever in composing. Take photos and videos. Save e-mails, texts, letters, and voicemails. Write a calendar of occasions.

2. Do not stop paying rent. It would likely protest the lease or the law. Keep your lease invoices as proof you paid.

3. Read your lease. Whatever is composed in the lease is a legal contract. Both occupant and property owner have responsibilities.

It is likely unlawful for a proprietor to retaliate against an occupant who submits a complaint, calls Buiding Codes, or takes legal action. Changing locks, shutting off energies, appearing typically, or inappropriately raising lease can be retaliation.

How is leasing different from home ownership?

Renting is different from own a home because the renter must depend on somebody else to make repairs. The occupant may not be able to make changes to the home without permission. An occupant has both rights and obligations. Renting can be a good option for lots of individuals to preserve a healthy home environment, both inside your home and outdoors. Whether you rent a home, apartment or condo, duplex, mobile home or cabin you can keep the 7 healthy homes concepts. Keep in mind that great health starts at home.

What are my obligations as a tenant?

Renters are accountable for cleanliness and safety. You might lease with no official arrangement, or you might have a lease agreement. The most common type of occupant in Tennessee is a renter who signs a lease arrangement to pay rent monthly throughout the year. Renters may be asked to provide a security deposit. Lease contracts are legally binding agreements. You are responsible for following the terms of your lease. Some lease arrangements have addendums such as pet policies, insect control agreements or for reporting water damage. You are accountable for: paying your lease on time, paying any late costs, keeping the place tidy and safe, not letting anyone else damage it, not breaking the law, disposing of your garbage, and following your proprietor's rules. If you break your lease, then it may become a legal concern.

The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance shared Tips for First-Time Renters as well as Tips on How to Spot Rental and Moving Scammers.

What can I do to keep my rental home a healthy home?

There are 8 fundamental concepts to keeping a healthy home.

1. Keep it Dry. - Damp homes offer a great environment for mites, roaches, rodents and molds.
2. Keep it Clean. - Clean homes assist lower pest invasions and exposure to contaminants.
3. Keep it Pest-Free. - Exposure to mice and cockroaches may increase asthma attacks. Improper pesticide treatments for pest problems can aggravate health problems, considering that pesticide residues in homes can posture health threats.
4. Keep it Safe. - Most of kids's injuries happen in the home. Falls are the most frequent cause of residential injuries to children, followed by injuries from items in the home, burns, and poisonings.
5. Keep it Contaminant-Free. - Avoid exposure to lead, radon, carbon monoxide, pesticides, asbestos and ecological tobacco smoke. Remember exposure is typically greater indoors.
6. Keep it Ventilated. - Studies have actually shown increasing fresh air in a home enhances respiratory health.
7. Keep it Maintained. - Poorly-maintained homes are at threat of being unhealthy.
8. Keep it Thermally Controlled. - Houses that do not maintain sufficient temperature levels might position the safety of homeowners at increased risk from direct exposure to extreme heat or cold.

If you utilize these concepts as a guide, you can preserve a safe and healthy home. If you are having an issue maintaining any of these principles, other parts of this website will have details and resources to assist you.

What if I have an unhealthy condition in my rental home?

If you have an unhealthy condition in your rental home, then it may be your duty to repair the problem or it might be your property owner's responsibility to make repairs. Read your rental lease agreement. Comply with any requirements for tidiness or safety. Report any required repairs to the property owner as they occur. Putting your issues in writing is finest. This creates a record of your issues. Repairs to your rental home ought to be made in an affordable amount of time. The amount of time might be listed in your lease.

If your property manager has actually not made repairs in an affordable quantity of time, you might need to interact more directly, such as with extra composed complaints or an in person meeting. If your proprietor continues to overlook your concerns, you may need to pursue legal action.

Disputes in between a landlord and an occupant are civil concerns. Most landlord and tenant concerns are beyond the authority of the Health Department. These concerns would be ruled on by a civil court judge interpreting the law. There are some programs that support occupants.

What are my rights as a renter?

According to the Legal Aid Society, as a renter you deserve to a livable place and to live peacefully. Your rights as an occupant may differ depending on which county you live in. The Legal Aid Society has a helpful fact sheet to assist you understand your rights as an occupant. How to get in touch with the Legal Aid Society or the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services is listed below.

If your rental home requires an emergency repair work to keep it healthy, such as a repair work of the heat, gas, lights, water, sewage, plumbing or air conditioning, you ought to alert your landlord immediately.

If the requirement for repair work in not an emergency situation, then 2 week is normally considered as a sensible amount of time for the proprietor to make repair work. Hopefully, the majority of repair work will be made rather after a landlord is made mindful. Use your routine approach of reporting needs for repair work such as a website, phone call, text message, or office check out. Put something into composing to document when you made the landlord mindful of the need for repair work.

In some counties you can utilize some of your lease money to make these instant repair work. If the problem was your fault, you may need to assist pay for the repair work.

You can not be required out of your rental home. You can not be evicted without notice. The property owner can not alter the locks or shut down your energies to make you leave. Most of the time, a property manager needs to go to court before evicting you. If you did something harmful or threatening, the landlord only needs to give you three (3) days to leave. If you did not pay rent or broke your lease contract, you may be provided a thirty (30) day observe to vacate. If you have legal concerns about housing, you should speak with an attorney or legal services.

The Tennessee Alliance for Legal Serices has a HELP4TN website, chatbot, and telephone to assist people who need assist with their legal concerns. If you do not have your own lawyer, this is a good site to start.

If you certify based upon income or help status, the Legal Aid Society may be able to help. Remember, Legal Aid has a client waiting list and seldom will cases take place quickly. Contact the workplace near you for more information.

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands - 1-800-238-1443
Offices in Clarksville, Columbia, Cookeville, Gallatin, Murfreesboro, Nashville, Oak Ridge, and Tullahoma

Legal Aid Society of East Tennessee - 1-865-637-0484
Offices in Knoxville, Johnson City, Chattanooga, and Cleveland

West Tennessee Legal Services - 1-800-372-8346
Offices in Jackson, Dyersburg, Huntingdon, and Selmer

Memphis Area Legal Services - 1-888-207-6386
Offices in Memphis and Covington

The Legal Aid Society produced these fact sheets to help you comprehend your rights and tasks as an occupant. Click the left image for counties of 75,000 or more population and the best image for smaller counties.

Anderson, Blount, Bradley, Davidson, Hamilton, Knox, Madison, Maury, Montgomery, Rutherford, Sevier, Shelby, Sullivan, Sumner, Washington, Williamson, or Wilson

Bedford, Benton, Bledsoe, Campbell, Cannon, Carroll, Carter, Cheatham, Chester, Claiborne, Clay, Cocke, Coffee, Crockett, Cumberland, Decatur, DeKalb, Dickson, Dyer, Fayette, Fentress, Franklin, Gibson, Giles, Grainger, Greene, Grundy, Hamblen, Hancock, Hardeman, Hardin, Hawkins, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Lake, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln, Loudon, McMinn, McNairy, Macon, Marion, Marshall, Meigs, Monroe, Moore, Morgan, Obion, Overton, Perry, Pickett, Polk, Putnam, Rhea, Roane, Robertson, Scott, Sequatchie, Sevier, Smith, Stewart, Tipton, Trousdale, Unicoi, Union, Van Buren, Warren, Wayne, Weakley, or White

What about Residential Or Commercial Property Maintenance Codes?

Residential Or Commercial Property Maintenance Codes or Building and Safety Codes are minimum residential or commercial property maintenance standards. Codes can use to domestic or non-residential residential or commercial properties or both. Codes inspections can happen at any time, though they are most common with brand-new building and construction or remodelling. Building regulations help to make sure safety within a structure. It is essential to have structures up to code. Landlords are accountable for fulfilling Codes.

All cities in Tennessee have their own codes departments to enforce Residential or commercial property Maintenance Codes. Many large county or local government have codes departments. Though, many towns and rural locations do not have any standardized minimum residential or commercial property upkeep codes. Several codes departments across the state have actually embraced the International Residential or commercial property Maintenance Code. Codes inspectors might inspect electrical, pipes, gas, zoning, and other physical aspects of a home. Contact your regional codes department for information specific to your area.

Often Building regulations will ask if an occupant has actually already notified their property owner about the need for repair and given the landlord affordable time to make the repair work. Afterward, Buiding Codes might perform an examination. If there is an assessment, make certain to ask for a copy of any notes or citations. Remember that Building regulations can just check out homes where the occupant has legal right to enable their visit.

What is URLTA?

Tennessee Code Annotated § 66-28 is the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. URLTA just uses in counties of higher than 75,000 population since the 2010 U.S. Census. For these more inhabited counties, there are written requirements and securities to rental agreements including obligations for maintenance by the proprietor to adhere to requirements of relevant building and housing codes materially affecting healthy and safety, as noted in 66-28-304.( a).

What are the minimum standards for rental housing?

The Tennessee Department of Health is accountable for promoting rules for minimum health standards for rental housing. These rules are part of Tennessee Code Annotated § 53-5502 reorganized as § 68-111 in Chapter 1200-1-2. The guidelines cover fundamental devices and facilities, light and ventilation, temperature level, and sanitation.

Can I make a protest?

If a rental residential or commercial property breaches minimum health requirements it may be unfit for habitation. According to Tennessee Code Annotated § 68-111-101, occupants whose lease is $200 or less weekly might file a grievance with their local building inspector or county public health department. Complaints need to be filed in composing with your county health department and a copy must be forwarded by certified mail to the proprietor. A certifying problem can lead to a home investigation. This part of the law does not use to occupants who pay their lease month-to-month or for a term higher than month-to-month. For non-qualifying complaints, other building regulations or ordinances that the structure inspector is authorized to enforce, might be suitable to house rented at higher rates.

What if I live in government assisted housing?

The federal government assists low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled to pay for decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market. Participants find their own housing, including single-family homes, townhouses, and apartment or condos. There is an annual Housing Quality Standards (HQS) inspection procedure to ensure that homes are tidy and safe. Renters with assisted housing, such as Section 8, need to begin by talking with the workplace that issued their rental Housing Choice Voucher (HCV).

The Tennessee Housing Development Agency carries out agreement administration for Section 8 property concerns in 76 counties. If the residential or commercial property owner or representative is not satisfying their responsibilities, TDHA may step in. For more info, call THDA at 1-800-228-THDA (8432) during typical company hours or check out the THDA website anytime. Local public housing firms (PHAs) supply services in the other counties. A few of the local offices are the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency, Murfreesboro Housing Authority, Memphis Housing Authority, and Knox County Housing Authority.

Renters who receive help can call their regional U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development office. Much of HUD's programs have specific requirements for housing quality. If your housing is not up to standards, then HUD may intervene to have the proprietor make repair work as needed. Tennessee's HUD office contact numbers are:

HUD Knoxville Field Office - (865) 545-4370
Jurisdiction: Anderson, Bledsoe, Blount, Bradley, Campbell, Carter, Claiborne, Cocke, Cumberland, Fentress, Grainger, Greene, Grundy, Hamblen, Hamilton, Hancock, Hawkins, Jefferson, Johnson, Knox, Loudon, McMinn, Marion, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Pickett, Polk, Roane, Rhea, Scott, Sequatchie, Sevier, Sullivan, Unicoi, Union, Washington

HUD Memphis Field Office - (901) 544-3367
Jurisdiction: Benton, Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Decatur, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Lake, Lauderdale, Madison, McNairy, Obion, Shelby, Tipton, Weakley

HUD Nashville Field Office - (615) 736-5600
Jurisdiction: Bedford, Cannon, Cheatham, Clay, Coffee, Davidson, De Kalb, Dickson, Franklin, Giles, Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Jackson, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln, Macon, Marshall, Maury, Montgomery, Moore, Overton, Perry, Putnam, Robertson, Rutherford, Smith, Stewart, Sumner, Trousdale, Van Buren, Warren, Wayne, White, Williamson, Wilson

Does the USDA assist with occupants in backwoods?

Yes. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a rural development program. USDA assists with some 360 multi-family residential or commercial properties in Tennessee. If you have a concern about residing in USDA-assisted rural housing you can contact your rural advancement regional workplace.

Where can I discover more about healthy housing policy?

Our Healthy Places website supplies more info about the places we live, work and play. Click here to find out more about healthy housing policies.