How is renting various from own a home? What are my duties 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 an occupant? Fact sheets for renters 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 an official grievance? What if I live in government assisted housing? Does the USDA help with occupants in rural locations? Where can I discover more about healthy housing policy? Additional resources

* * * Our Healthy Homes personnel are not physicians or legal representatives. The details on our Healthy Homes Website does not offer medical or legal guidance. This information is not a replacement for visiting your physician or for consulting with a legal representative about your particular scenario. * * *

3 Actions a Worried Renter Should Do:

1. Put everything 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 against the lease or the law. Keep your lease receipts as evidence you paid.

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

It is most likely illegal for a landlord to retaliate versus a tenant who submits a problem, calls Buiding Codes, or takes legal action. Changing locks, turning off utilities, appearing frequently, or inappropriately raising lease can be retaliation.

How is leasing various from home ownership?

Renting is different from home ownership in that the occupant must count on somebody else to make repairs. The occupant may not be able to make modifications to the home without consent. A renter has both rights and responsibilities. Renting can be a good alternative for many individuals to keep a healthy home environment, both inside and outdoors. Whether you rent a home, home, duplex, mobile home or cabin you can keep the seven healthy homes principles. Keep in mind that health begins in your home.

What are my responsibilities as a tenant?

Renters are responsible for cleanliness and security. You may rent with no formal agreement, or you may have a lease contract. The most typical type of tenant in Tennessee is an occupant who signs a lease agreement to pay lease each month throughout the year. Renters may be asked to supply a security deposit. Lease contracts are lawfully binding agreements. You are responsible for following the regards to your lease. Some lease agreements 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 costs, 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 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 fundamental principles to preserving a healthy home.

1. Keep it Dry. - Damp homes offer an excellent environment for mites, roaches, rodents and molds.

1. Keep it Clean. - Clean homes help in reducing insect infestations and direct exposure to pollutants.
2. Keep it Pest-Free. - Exposure to mice and cockroaches may increase asthma attacks. Improper pesticide treatments for insect invasions can get worse health problems, because pesticide residues in homes can position health risks.
3. Keep it Safe. - The bulk of children's injuries occur in the home. Falls are the most regular cause of domestic injuries to children, followed by injuries from objects in the home, burns, and poisonings.
4. Keep it Contaminant-Free. - Avoid direct exposure to lead, radon, carbon monoxide, pesticides, asbestos and environmental tobacco smoke. Keep in mind direct exposure is often higher inside your home.
5. Keep it Ventilated. - Studies have actually revealed increasing fresh air in a home enhances breathing health.
6. Keep it Maintained. - Poorly-maintained homes are at danger of being unhealthy.
7. Keep it Thermally Controlled. - Houses that do not maintain appropriate temperature levels might place the security of citizens at increased threat from exposure to extreme heat or cold.
   
   If you utilize these principles as a guide, you can keep a safe and healthy home. If you are having an issue keeping any of these concepts, other parts of this website will know and resources to help 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 issue or it may be your landlord's obligation to make repair work. Read your rental lease arrangement. Abide by any requirements for tidiness or security. Report any needed repairs to the proprietor as they emerge. Putting your concerns in writing is finest. This produces a record of your issues. Repairs to your rental home need to be made in a sensible amount of time. The amount of time may be listed in your lease.
   
   If your property manager has actually not made repairs in a reasonable quantity of time, you might need to communicate more straight, such as with additional composed grievances or a face-to-face meeting. If your landlord continues to neglect your issues, you might require to pursue legal action.
   smarter.com
   Disputes between a property manager and a tenant are civil problems. Most property owner 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 tenants.
   
   What are my rights as a renter?
   
   According to the Legal Aid Society, as an occupant you have the right to a habitable 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 useful reality sheet to assist you understand your rights as an occupant. How to contact the Legal Aid Society or the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services is listed below.
   
   If your rental home needs 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 need to inform your landlord immediately.
   
   If the need for repair work in not an emergency situation, then 14 days is generally thought about as a reasonable amount of time for the property manager to make repair work. Hopefully, the majority of repairs will be made much sooner after a property owner is made aware. Use your regular technique of reporting needs for repair such as a site, phone call, text message, or office visit. Put something into composing to document when you made the proprietor familiar with the need for repair work.
   
   In some counties you can use a few of your rent cash to make these immediate repairs. If the problem was your fault, you may have to help pay for the repair work.
   
   You can not be dislodged of your rental home. You can not be evicted without notification. The property owner can not alter the locks or shut down your utilities to make you leave. The majority of the time, a proprietor needs to go to court before evicting you. If you did something harmful or threatening, the property owner only needs to offer you 3 (3) days to move out. If you did not pay lease or broke your lease agreement, you may be given a thirty (30) day notice to leave. If you have legal concerns about housing, you should seek advice from an attorney or legal services.
   
   The Tennessee Alliance for Legal Serices has a HELP4TN site, chatbot, and telephone to help people who need assist with their legal concerns. If you do not have your own lawyer, this is a good website to start.
   
   If you qualify based upon earnings or assistance status, the Legal Aid Society may be able to assist. Keep in mind, Legal Aid has a customer waiting list and hardly ever will cases take place fast. Contact the office 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 fact sheets to help you understand your rights and duties as an occupant. Click the left image for counties of 75,000 or more population and the ideal 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 requirements. Codes can apply to property or non-residential residential or commercial properties or both. Codes inspections can take place at any time, though they are most common with new construction or renovation. Building Codes assist to guarantee safety within a structure. It is very important to have buildings up to code. Landlords are responsible for meeting Codes.
   
   All cities in Tennessee have their own codes departments to impose Residential or commercial property Maintenance Codes. Many large county or city federal governments have codes departments. Though, numerous little towns and rural locations do not have any standardized minimum residential or commercial property upkeep codes. Several codes departments throughout the state have adopted the International Residential or commercial property Maintenance Code. Codes inspectors might check electrical, pipes, gas, zoning, and other physical elements of a home. Contact your local codes department for information particular to your location.
   
   Often Building regulations will ask if an occupant has currently informed their proprietor about the need for repair and offered the proprietor reasonable time to make the repair work. Afterward, Buiding Codes might perform an assessment. If there is an assessment, be sure to request a copy of any notes or citations. Bear in mind that Building Codes can only check out homes where the renter 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 applies in counties of higher than 75,000 population since the 2010 U.S. Census. For these more populated counties, there are written requirements and defenses to rental agreements including obligations for upkeep by the property owner to adhere to requirements of appropriate building and housing codes materially affecting healthy and security, as listed in 66-28-304.( a).
   
   What are the minimum requirements for rental housing?
   
   The Tennessee Department of Health is responsible for promulgating rules for minimum health requirements for rental housing. These guidelines belong to Tennessee Code Annotated § 53-5502 reorganized as § 68-111 in Chapter 1200-1-2. The rules cover fundamental devices and facilities, light and ventilation, temperature level, and sanitation.
   
   Can I make a protest?
   
   If a rental residential or commercial property violates minimum health standards it may be unfit for habitation. According to Tennessee Code Annotated § 68-111-101, tenants whose lease is $200 or less each week might file a complaint 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 should be forwarded by certified mail to the landlord. A certifying problem can result in a home . This part of the law does not apply to tenants who pay their lease month-to-month or for a term higher than regular monthly. For non-qualifying grievances, other building codes or ordinances that the structure inspector is authorized to implement, may be applicable to home leased at greater rates.
   
   What if I reside in federal government assisted housing?
   
   The federal government assists low-income families, the senior, and the handicapped to manage good, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market. Participants discover their own housing, consisting of single-family homes, townhouses, and apartment or condos. There is a yearly Housing Quality Standards (HQS) examination treatment to make sure that homes are tidy and safe. Renters with assisted housing, such as Section 8, should begin by talking with the workplace that released their rental Housing Choice Voucher (HCV).
   
   The Tennessee Housing Development Agency carries out agreement administration for Section 8 domestic issues in 76 counties. If the residential or commercial property owner or representative is not satisfying their responsibilities, TDHA might step in. For more information, call THDA at 1-800-228-THDA (8432) during normal business hours or check out the THDA website anytime. Local public housing companies (PHAs) offer services in the other counties. Some of the local workplaces are the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency, Murfreesboro Housing Authority, Memphis Housing Authority, and Knox County Housing Authority.
   
   Renters who get assistance can call 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 might intervene to have the property owner make repair work as necessary. Tennessee's HUD workplace 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 locations?
   
   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 question about living in USDA-assisted rural housing you can call your rural development local office.
   
   Where can I discover more about healthy housing policy?
   
   Our Healthy Places webpage provides more information about the places we live, work and play. Click here for more information about healthy housing policies.