How is leasing various from own a home?
What are my responsibilities as a renter?
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 renter?
Fact sheets for occupants and occupants throughout 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 federal government assisted housing?
Does the USDA help with occupants in backwoods?
Where can I find out more about healthy housing policy?
Additional resources

* * * Our Healthy Homes staff are not medical professionals or lawyers. The details on our Healthy Homes Website does not provide medical or legal advice. This details is not an alternative to visiting your doctor or for seeking advice from with a lawyer about your particular situation. * * *

3 Actions a Concerned Renter Should Do:

1. Put everything in composing. Take photos and videos. Save emails, texts, letters, and voicemails. Write a calendar of events.

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

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

It is most likely illegal for a landlord to retaliate against a renter who files a problem, calls Buiding Codes, or takes legal action. Changing locks, turning off energies, showing up often, or wrongly raising rent can be retaliation.

How is renting various from own a home?

Renting is various from home ownership because the occupant need to count on somebody else to make repairs. The tenant might not have the ability to make modifications to the home without authorization. A tenant has both rights and duties. Renting can be a good choice for many individuals to preserve a healthy home environment, both inside and outdoors. Whether you lease a home, apartment, duplex, mobile home or cabin you can keep the seven healthy homes concepts. Keep in mind that health starts at home.

What are my responsibilities as an occupant?

Renters are responsible for tidiness and security. You may rent without any formal contract, or you might have a lease agreement. The most common type of occupant in Tennessee is a tenant who signs a lease agreement to pay lease each month throughout the year. Renters may be asked to provide a down payment. Lease contracts are lawfully binding agreements. You are accountable for following the regards to your lease. Some lease contracts have addendums such as pet policies, bug control agreements or for reporting water damage. You are accountable for: paying your lease on time, paying any late charges, keeping the location tidy and safe, not letting anyone else damage it, not breaking the law, disposing of your trash, and following your proprietor's rules. If you break your lease, then it may end up being 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 standard concepts to keeping a healthy home.

1. Keep it Dry. - Damp homes provide a great environment for mites, roaches, rodents and molds.
2. Keep it Clean. - Clean homes assist lower pest infestations and direct exposure to impurities.
3. Keep it Pest-Free. - Exposure to mice and cockroaches might increase asthma attacks. Improper pesticide treatments for insect invasions can worsen health issues, because pesticide residues in homes can pose health risks.
4. Keep it Safe. - The bulk of children's injuries occur in the home. Falls are the most regular 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. Keep in mind direct exposure is often higher inside your home.
6. Keep it Ventilated. - Studies have shown increasing fresh air in a home enhances respiratory health.
7. Keep it Maintained. - Poorly-maintained homes are at risk of being unhealthy.
8. Keep it Thermally Controlled. - Houses that do not maintain adequate temperatures might place the security of residents at increased threat from exposure to extreme heat or cold.

If you use these concepts as a guide, you can keep a safe and healthy home. If you are having an issue preserving any of these principles, other parts of this site will know 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 might be your responsibility to fix the problem or it may be your proprietor's responsibility to make repairs. Read your rental lease contract. Abide by any requirements for cleanliness or safety. Report any needed repairs to the property owner as they develop. Putting your concerns in composing is best. This creates a record of your concerns. Repairs to your rental home ought to be made in a reasonable amount of time. The quantity of time may be listed in your lease.

If your landlord has actually not made repairs in a sensible amount of time, you might require to interact more straight, such as with extra composed complaints or an in person conference. If your landlord continues to neglect your issues, you may need to pursue legal action.

Disputes in between a proprietor and an occupant are civil problems. Most proprietor and occupant concerns are beyond the authority of the Health Department. These issues would be ruled on by a civil court judge translating the law. There are some programs that support renters.

What are my rights as a renter?

According to the Legal Aid Society, as an occupant you deserve to a habitable location and to live in harmony. Your rights as an occupant may vary depending upon which county you live in. The Legal Aid Society has a beneficial fact sheet to help you comprehend your rights as an occupant. How to contact the Legal Aid Society or the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services is noted below.

If your rental home requires an emergency situation repair work to keep it healthy, such as a repair of the heat, gas, lights, water, sewage, plumbing or a/c, you ought to alert your landlord right now.

If the requirement for repair work in not an emergency situation, then 2 week is usually considered as a reasonable quantity of time for the proprietor to make repair work. Hopefully, the majority of repair work will be made much faster after a property owner is made aware. Use your routine method of reporting requirements for repair work such as a site, call, text message, or workplace visit. Put something into composing to record when you made the property owner familiar with the need for repair work.

In some counties you can utilize some of your lease cash to make these immediate repair work. If the issue was your fault, you might have to assist pay for the repair work.

You can not be displaced of your rental home. You can not be kicked out without notice. The property manager can not change the locks or shut down your energies to make you leave. The majority of the time, a proprietor requires to go to court before evicting you. If you did something unsafe or threatening, the property manager only requires to offer you 3 (3) days to move out. If you did not pay rent or broke your lease agreement, you may be given a thirty (30) day discover to move out. If you have legal questions about housing, you should seek advice from with a lawyer or legal services.

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

If you certify based on earnings or help status, the Legal Aid Society may be able to help. Keep in mind, Legal Aid has a client waiting list and seldom will cases take place quick. Contact the office near you to find out more.

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 developed these fact sheets to assist you understand your rights and duties as a tenant. Click the left image for counties of 75,000 or more population and the ideal image for smaller sized 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 upkeep requirements. Codes can use to property or non-residential residential or commercial properties or both. Codes evaluations can take place at any time, though they are most typical with new construction or restoration. Building regulations assist to ensure safety within a building. It is very important to have buildings up to code. Landlords are accountable for fulfilling Codes.

All urbane areas in Tennessee have their own codes departments to implement Residential or commercial property Maintenance Codes. Many large county or city governments have codes departments. Though, numerous towns and rural areas do not have any standardized minimum residential or commercial property upkeep codes. Several codes departments throughout the state have embraced the International Residential or commercial property Maintenance Code. Codes inspectors might inspect electrical, pipes, gas, zoning, and other physical elements of a home. Contact your local codes department for details specific to your location.

Often Building Codes will ask if an occupant has already notified their proprietor about the need for repair and provided the property owner reasonable time to make the repair. Afterward, Buiding Codes might perform an assessment. If there is an assessment, be sure to ask for a copy of any notes or citations. Remember that Building regulations can just check out homes where the tenant has legal right to permit their check out.

What is URLTA?

Tennessee Code Annotated § 66-28 is the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. URLTA only uses in counties of higher than 75,000 population as of the 2010 U.S. Census. For these more populated counties, there are written requirements and protections to rental agreements consisting of responsibilities for maintenance by the property owner to comply with requirements of suitable structure and housing codes materially impacting healthy and safety, as listed in 66-28-304.( a).

What are the minimum requirements for rental housing?

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

Can I make a protest?

If a rental residential or commercial property violates minimum health standards it might be unfit for habitation. According to Tennessee Code Annotated § 68-111-101, renters whose rent is $200 or less weekly might file a grievance with their local structure inspector or county public health department. Complaints require to be submitted in writing with your county health department and a copy need to be forwarded by certified mail to the property manager. A qualifying problem can result in a home examination. This part of the law does not use to tenants who pay their lease monthly or for a term greater than regular monthly. For non-qualifying complaints, other building regulations or ordinances that the building inspector is authorized to enforce, may be suitable to residential home leased at higher rates.

What if I reside in government assisted housing?

The federal government assists low-income households, the senior, and the handicapped to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the personal market. Participants find their own housing, including single-family homes, townhouses, and houses. There is a yearly Housing Quality Standards (HQS) examination procedure to make sure that homes are clean and safe. Renters with assisted housing, such as Section 8, should start 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 residential concerns in 76 counties. If the residential or commercial property owner or representative is not fulfilling their responsibilities, TDHA may intervene. To find out more, call THDA at 1-800-228-THDA (8432) throughout normal organization hours or visit the THDA website anytime. Local public housing companies (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 get support can contact their regional U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development office. Many of HUD's programs have specific requirements for housing quality. If your housing is not up to requirements, then HUD may intervene to have the landlord make repair work as required. 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 help with tenants in backwoods?

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

Where can I discover more about healthy housing policy?

Our Healthy Places webpage provides more info about the locations we live, work and play. Click on this link to read more about healthy housing policies.