How is renting different 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 renter?
Fact sheets for renters and tenants 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 an official complaint?
What if I reside in government assisted housing?
Does the USDA assist with tenants in backwoods?
Where can I find out more about healthy housing policy?
Additional resources

* * * Our Healthy Homes personnel are not doctors or attorneys. The information on our Healthy Homes Website does not supply medical or legal guidance. This info is not a replacement for visiting your doctor or for speaking with an attorney about your specific scenario. * * *

3 Actions a Worried Renter Should Do:

1. Put whatever in writing. Take pictures and videos. Save e-mails, 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 lease invoices as proof you paid.

3. Read your lease. Whatever is composed in the lease is a legal agreement. Both renter and proprietor have duties.

It is most likely prohibited for a property manager to strike back against a renter who files a grievance, calls Buiding Codes, or takes legal action. Changing locks, turning off utilities, appearing typically, or inappropriately raising rent can be retaliation.

How is renting different from home ownership?

Renting is various from own a home because the renter need to rely on somebody else to make repair work. The occupant might not be able to make changes to the home without authorization. An occupant has both rights and duties. Renting can be a great alternative for many individuals to preserve a healthy home environment, both inside your home and outdoors. Whether you lease a home, apartment or condo, duplex, mobile home or cabin you can keep the 7 healthy homes concepts. Keep in mind that good health starts in your home.

What are my duties as a renter?

Renters are accountable for tidiness and safety. You might lease with no official contract, or you may have a lease agreement. The most common type of occupant in Tennessee is a tenant who signs a lease arrangement to pay lease each month throughout the year. Renters might be asked to provide a security deposit. Lease arrangements are legally binding contracts. You are accountable for following the regards to your lease. Some lease agreements have addendums such as pet policies, pest control agreements or for reporting water damage. You are accountable for: paying your rent on time, paying any late fees, keeping the location clean and safe, not letting anybody else damage it, not breaking the law, disposing of your garbage, and following your landlord's guidelines. If you break your lease, then it may end up being a legal issue.

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

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

There are eight standard principles to preserving 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 help in reducing insect problems and exposure to pollutants.
3. Keep it Pest-Free. - Exposure to mice and cockroaches may increase asthma attacks. Improper pesticide treatments for insect invasions can aggravate health issue, considering that pesticide residues in homes can posture health risks.
4. Keep it Safe. - The bulk of children's injuries happen in the home. Falls are the most frequent cause of property injuries to kids, followed by injuries from items in the home, burns, and poisonings.
5. Keep it Contaminant-Free. - Avoid exposure to lead, radon, carbon monoxide gas, pesticides, asbestos and ecological tobacco smoke. Keep in mind exposure is often higher inside.
6. Keep it Ventilated. - Studies have shown increasing fresh air in a home improves 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 temperature levels may put the safety of citizens at increased risk from exposure to severe heat or cold.

If you utilize these principles as a guide, you can keep a safe and healthy home. If you are having a problem keeping any of these concepts, 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 may be your duty to fix the problem or it may be your proprietor's responsibility to make repair work. Read your rental lease arrangement. Abide by any requirements for cleanliness or security. Report any needed repair work to the property owner as they emerge. Putting your issues in composing is best. This develops a record of your concerns. Repairs to your rental home must be made in a reasonable quantity of time. The quantity of time may be listed in your lease.

If your property owner has not made repairs in an affordable amount of time, you might require to communicate more straight, such as with extra composed problems or a face-to-face conference. If your property owner continues to disregard your concerns, you might require to pursue legal action.

Disputes in between a property manager and a tenant are civil problems. Most landlord and tenant issues are beyond the authority of the Health Department. These issues would be ruled on by a civil court judge analyzing the law. There are some programs that support occupants.

What are my rights as an occupant?

According to the Legal Aid Society, as a renter you deserve to a livable location and to live quietly. Your rights as a renter may differ depending upon which county you reside in. The Legal Aid Society has a beneficial truth sheet to help you comprehend your rights as a tenant. How to contact the Legal Aid Society or the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services is listed below.

If your rental home requires an emergency situation repair to keep it healthy, such as a repair of the heat, gas, lights, water, sewage, plumbing or a/c, you ought to signal your property manager immediately.

If the need for repair work in not an emergency situation, then 14 days is usually considered as a sensible quantity of time for the proprietor to make repairs. Hopefully, a lot of repair work will be made rather after a property owner is warned. Use your routine technique of reporting requirements for repair work such as a website, telephone call, text, or workplace go to. Put something into composing to document when you made the property owner knowledgeable about the need for repair work.

In some counties you can utilize a few of your rent cash to make these instant repairs. If the issue was your fault, you might have to assist pay for the repair work.

You can not be forced out of your rental home. You can not be forced out without notification. The landlord can not change the locks or shut down your utilities to make you leave. Most of the time, a property owner requires to go to court before evicting you. If you did something unsafe or threatening, the property owner only needs to provide you 3 (3) days to move out. If you did not pay rent or broke your lease arrangement, you may be offered a thirty (30) day see to move out. If you have legal concerns about housing, you need to speak with a lawyer or legal services.

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

If you certify based upon earnings or support status, the Legal Aid Society might have the ability to assist. Remember, Legal Aid has a client waiting list and hardly ever will cases happen fast. Contact the workplace near you to learn 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 truth 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 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 maintenance standards. Codes can apply to property or non-residential residential or commercial properties or both. Codes evaluations can take place at any time, though they are most common with new building and construction or remodelling. Building regulations assist to make sure security within a structure. It is essential to have buildings up to code. Landlords are accountable for fulfilling Codes.

All cities in Tennessee have their own codes departments to implement Residential or commercial property Maintenance Codes. Many big county or local government have codes departments. Though, many villages and backwoods 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 may examine electrical, plumbing, gas, zoning, and other physical aspects of a home. Contact your local codes department for information specific to your place.

Often Building regulations will ask if a renter has currently notified their property owner about the need for repair and given the proprietor reasonable time to make the repair. Afterward, Buiding Codes might carry out an examination. If there is an inspection, make sure to request a copy of any notes or citations. Keep in mind that Building Codes can just go to homes where the tenant has legal right to enable their see.

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 defenses to rental contracts consisting of responsibilities for upkeep by the property owner to abide by requirements of appropriate structure and housing codes materially affecting healthy and security, as listed in 66-28-304.( a).

What are the minimum standards for rental housing?

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

Can I make a protest?

If a rental residential or commercial property breaks minimum health standards it may be unsuited for habitation. According to Tennessee Code Annotated § 68-111-101, tenants whose lease is $200 or less weekly may submit a grievance with their local structure inspector or county public health department. Complaints need to be submitted in composing with your county health department and a copy should be forwarded by certified mail to the landlord. A certifying complaint can lead to a home examination. This part of the law does not use to occupants who pay their lease monthly or for a term greater than month-to-month. For non-qualifying complaints, other building codes or regulations that the building inspector is authorized to impose, might apply to home leased at greater rates.

What if I live in government assisted housing?

The federal government assists low-income families, the senior, and the handicapped to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market. Participants find their own housing, including single-family homes, townhouses, and apartments. There is an annual Housing Quality Standards (HQS) assessment treatment to guarantee that homes are clean and safe. Renters with assisted housing, such as Section 8, ought to start by talking with the office that issued their rental Housing Choice Voucher (HCV).

The Tennessee Housing Development Agency performs contract administration for Section 8 residential problems in 76 counties. If the residential or commercial property owner or representative is not fulfilling their obligations, TDHA might intervene. For more details, call THDA at 1-800-228-THDA (8432) during typical company hours or visit the THDA website anytime. Local public housing firms (PHAs) offer services in the other counties. A few of the local workplaces 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 workplace. Many of HUD's programs have specific requirements for housing quality. If your housing is not up to requirements, then HUD might step in to have the property owner make repair work as essential. 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 rural areas?

Yes. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a rural development program. USDA helps 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 call your rural development regional office.

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 on this link to find out more about healthy housing policies.