How is renting different from home ownership? 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 tenant? Fact sheets for renters and tenants throughout COVID-19 What about Residential Or Commercial Property Maintenance Codes? What is URLTA? What are the minimum standards for rental housing? Can I make an official grievance? What if I live in federal government assisted housing? Does the USDA assist with occupants in backwoods? Where can I learn more about healthy housing policy? Additional resources

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

3 Actions a Worried Renter Should Do:

1. Put whatever in writing. Take photographs and videos. Save emails, texts, letters, and voicemails. Write a calendar of events.

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

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

It is most likely unlawful for a property manager to strike back versus an occupant who files a grievance, calls Buiding Codes, or takes legal action. Changing locks, turning off energies, showing up frequently, or wrongly raising lease can be retaliation.

How is renting various from home ownership?

Renting is different from own a home in that the renter should depend on somebody else to make repair work. The tenant might not be able to make changes to the home without approval. A tenant has both rights and responsibilities. Renting can be an excellent option for lots of people to keep a healthy home environment, both indoors and outdoors. Whether you rent a home, apartment or condo, duplex, mobile home or cabin you can keep the 7 healthy homes principles. Remember that health begins in your home.

What are my obligations as a renter?

Renters are accountable for cleanliness and security. You may lease without any formal arrangement, or you might have a lease arrangement. The most typical kind of tenant in Tennessee is a renter who signs a lease contract to pay rent every month throughout the year. Renters may be asked to supply a down payment. Lease contracts are legally binding contracts. You are accountable for following the regards to your lease. Some lease arrangements have addendums such as pet policies, insect control contracts or for reporting water damage. You are responsible for: paying your lease on time, paying any late charges, keeping the place tidy and safe, not letting anybody else damage it, not breaking the law, dealing with your trash, and following your property owner's rules. 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 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 eight standard concepts to preserving a healthy home.

1. Keep it Dry. - Damp homes provide a good environment for mites, roaches, rodents and molds.

1. Keep it Clean. - Clean homes help in reducing insect infestations and exposure to contaminants.
2. Keep it Pest-Free. - Exposure to mice and cockroaches may increase asthma attacks. Improper pesticide treatments for bug problems can worsen illness, because pesticide residues in homes can pose health risks.
3. Keep it Safe. - The majority of children's injuries take place in the home. Falls are the most frequent cause of property injuries to children, followed by injuries from items in the home, burns, and poisonings.
4. Keep it Contaminant-Free. - Avoid exposure to lead, radon, carbon monoxide gas, pesticides, asbestos and environmental tobacco smoke. Remember exposure is typically higher inside your home.
5. Keep it Ventilated. - Studies have shown increasing fresh air in a home enhances respiratory health.
6. Keep it Maintained. - Poorly-maintained homes are at risk of being unhealthy.
7. Keep it Thermally Controlled. - Houses that do not preserve appropriate temperatures might place the safety of citizens at increased risk from direct exposure to extreme heat or cold.
   
   If you use these concepts as a guide, you can preserve a safe and healthy home. If you are having an issue preserving any of these principles, other parts of this website 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 obligation to repair the issue or it might be your landlord's responsibility to make repair work. Read your rental lease agreement. Adhere to any requirements for tidiness or security. Report any required repair work to the proprietor as they emerge. Putting your concerns in composing is best. This develops a record of your concerns. Repairs to your rental home should be made in an affordable amount of time. The quantity of time might be noted in your lease.
   
   If your property manager has not made repair work in a sensible amount of time, you may need to interact more straight, such as with extra composed grievances or a face-to-face conference. If your proprietor continues to neglect your issues, you may need to pursue legal action.
   
   Disputes between a landlord and an occupant are civil problems. Most property owner and tenant issues 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 tenant?
   
   According to the Legal Aid Society, as an occupant you deserve to a livable place and to live in harmony. Your rights as a tenant may differ depending upon which county you reside in. The Legal Aid Society has a helpful fact sheet to assist you understand your rights as a tenant. How to get in touch with the Legal Aid Society or the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services is noted below.
   
   If your rental home needs an emergency repair to keep it healthy, such as a repair work of the heat, gas, lights, water, sewage, pipes or air conditioning, you must inform your property manager immediately.
   
   If the requirement for repair in not an emergency situation, then 14 days is normally considered as a reasonable quantity of time for the landlord to make repairs. Hopefully, the majority of repairs will be made rather after a property owner is made aware. Use your routine method of reporting needs for repair such as a website, call, text message, or workplace see. Put something into writing to record when you made the proprietor knowledgeable about the requirement for repair work.
   
   In some counties you can use a few of your rent cash to make these instant repairs. If the problem was your fault, you may need to help spend for the repair work.
   
   You can not be dislodged of your rental home. You can not be forced out without notification. The landlord can not alter the locks or shut down your energies to make you leave. Most of the time, a property manager requires to go to court before evicting you. If you did something dangerous or threatening, the property manager only needs to offer you 3 (3) days to move out. If you did not pay lease or broke your lease contract, you might be offered a thirty (30) day observe to leave. If you have legal questions about housing, you ought to consult with a lawyer or legal services.
   
   The Tennessee Alliance for Legal Serices has a HELP4TN website, chatbot, and telephone to help people who require assist with their legal issues. If you do not have your own attorney, this is an excellent website to start.
   
   If you certify based on income or support status, the Legal Aid Society might be able to assist. Bear in mind, Legal Aid has a client waiting list and hardly ever will cases occur quick. Contact the workplace near you for additional 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 developed these reality sheets to assist you understand your rights and tasks as a tenant. Click the left image for counties of 75,000 or more 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 standards. Codes can use to domestic or non-residential residential or commercial properties or both. Codes examinations can occur at any time, though they are most typical with brand-new construction or remodelling. Building regulations help to guarantee safety within a building. It is necessary to have structures up to code. Landlords are responsible for meeting Codes.
   
   All metropolitan locations in Tennessee have their own codes departments to impose Residential or commercial property Maintenance Codes. Many large county or local government have codes departments. Though, many towns and backwoods do not have any standardized minimum residential or commercial property maintenance codes. Several codes departments across the state have adopted the International Residential or commercial property Maintenance Code. Codes inspectors might examine electrical, pipes, gas, zoning, and other physical elements of a home. Contact your regional codes department for info particular to your place.
   
   Often Building Codes will ask if an occupant has actually already notified their property owner about the need for repair and given the proprietor affordable time to make the repair work. Afterward, Buiding Codes may carry out an examination. If there is an evaluation, make certain to request a copy of any notes or citations. Keep in mind that Building regulations can only check out homes where the tenant has legal right to enable their visit.
   
   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 as of the 2010 U.S. Census. For these more populated counties, there are written requirements and defenses to rental arrangements consisting of commitments for maintenance by the proprietor to comply with requirements of relevant building and housing codes materially impacting 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 guidelines for minimum health standards for rental housing. These rules belong to Tennessee Code Annotated § 53-5502 reorganized as § 68-111 in Chapter 1200-1-2. The rules cover standard devices and facilities, light and ventilation, temperature level, and sanitation.
   
   Can I make a protest?
   
   If a rental residential or commercial property breaks minimum health standards it may be unfit for habitation. According to Tennessee Code Annotated § 68-111-101, renters whose rent is $200 or less each week might file a problem 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 need to be forwarded by certified mail to the property manager. A qualifying complaint can result in a home investigation. This part of the law does not apply to renters who pay their rent month-to-month or for a term greater than monthly. For non-qualifying complaints, other building regulations or ordinances that the building inspector is authorized to enforce, may be applicable to house leased at greater rates.
   
   What if I live in government assisted housing?
   
   The federal government assists low-income families, the elderly, and the handicapped to manage good, safe, and hygienic housing in the private market. Participants discover their own housing, including single-family homes, townhouses, and homes. There is an annual Housing Quality Standards (HQS) examination procedure to make sure 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 performs contract administration for Section 8 residential issues in 76 counties. If the residential or commercial property owner or agent is not satisfying their responsibilities, TDHA may intervene. To find out more, call THDA at 1-800-228-THDA (8432) throughout normal organization hours or go to the THDA webpage anytime. Local public housing firms (PHAs) supply 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 receive assistance can call their local U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development workplace. Many of HUD's programs have particular requirements for housing quality. If your housing is not up to standards, then HUD might step in to have the property manager make repairs as essential. 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 assist with renters in rural locations?
   
   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 concern about residing in USDA-assisted rural housing you can call your rural development regional office.
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   Where can I discover more about healthy housing policy?
   
   Our Healthy Places web page offers more info about the locations we live, work and play. Click here to discover more about healthy housing policies.