How is renting various from home ownership? 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 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 assist with tenants in rural locations? Where can I find out more about healthy housing policy? Additional resources

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

3 Actions a Concerned Renter Should Do:

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

2. Do not stop paying rent. It would likely be against 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 tenant and proprietor have duties.

It is most likely unlawful for a property manager to strike back against a renter who files a problem, calls Buiding Codes, or takes legal action. Changing locks, turning off utilities, appearing frequently, or wrongly raising lease can be retaliation.

How is leasing different from home ownership?

Renting is different from own a home because the renter need to count on somebody else to make repair work. The tenant may not have the ability to make changes to the home without permission. A renter has both rights and responsibilities. Renting can be a great alternative for lots of people to maintain a healthy home environment, both inside your home and outdoors. Whether you rent a home, apartment, duplex, mobile home or cabin you can keep the 7 healthy homes concepts. Remember that health begins in your home.

What are my obligations as an occupant?

Renters are accountable for tidiness and security. You might rent without any formal arrangement, or you may have a lease contract. The most typical type of renter in Tennessee is a tenant who signs a lease contract to pay lease monthly throughout the year. Renters may be asked to offer a down payment. Lease agreements are legally binding contracts. You are accountable for following the terms of your lease. Some lease arrangements have addendums such as pet policies, bug control contracts or for reporting water damage. You are accountable for: paying your lease on time, paying any late fees, keeping the location tidy and safe, not letting anyone else damage it, not breaking the law, disposing of your trash, and following your property manager's guidelines. If you break your lease, then it may end up being a legal problem.

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

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

There are eight basic concepts to maintaining a healthy home.

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

1. Keep it Clean. - Clean homes help minimize bug problems and exposure to impurities.
2. Keep it Pest-Free. - Exposure to mice and cockroaches might increase asthma attacks. Improper pesticide treatments for insect problems can aggravate illness, since pesticide residues in homes can posture health risks.
3. Keep it Safe. - Most of children's injuries take place in the home. Falls are the most regular reason for residential injuries to kids, 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 ecological tobacco smoke. Remember exposure is often higher indoors.
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 threat of being unhealthy.
7. Keep it Thermally Controlled. - Houses that do not keep adequate temperatures may position the security of homeowners at increased danger from exposure to severe heat or cold.
   
   If you utilize these principles as a guide, you can preserve a safe and healthy home. If you are having a problem preserving any of these concepts, other parts of this site will have info 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 repair the problem or it might be your property owner's responsibility to make repair work. Read your rental lease arrangement. Adhere to any requirements for cleanliness or security. Report any needed repairs to the proprietor as they arise. Putting your concerns in writing is best. This creates a record of your concerns. Repairs to your rental home must be made in a sensible amount of time. The amount of time may be noted in your lease.
   
   If your property manager has not made repair work in a reasonable quantity of time, you may require to communicate more directly, such as with extra written complaints 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 landlord 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 renters.
   
   What are my rights as a renter?
   
   According to the Legal Aid Society, as a renter you deserve to a habitable place and to live quietly. Your rights as a renter might differ depending on which county you reside in. The Legal Aid Society has a useful fact sheet to assist you comprehend 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 situation repair to keep it healthy, such as a repair work of the heat, gas, lights, water, sewage, pipes or air conditioning, you need to notify your property manager right away.
   
   If the need for repair work in not an emergency, then 2 week is usually thought about as an affordable quantity of time for the landlord to make repairs. Hopefully, a lot of repairs will be made much earlier after a landlord is warned. Use your regular approach of reporting requirements for repair work such as a site, phone call, text, or workplace see. Put something into writing to record when you made the property owner knowledgeable about the need for repair.
   
   In some counties you can utilize some of your rent money to make these immediate repair work. If the issue was your fault, you may need to assist pay for the repairs.
   
   You can not be displaced of your rental home. You can not be kicked out without notification. The property manager can not change the locks or turned off your utilities to make you leave. The majority of the time, a proprietor requires to go to court before evicting you. If you did something hazardous or threatening, the proprietor just requires to provide you 3 (3) days to leave. If you did not pay rent or broke your lease agreement, you may be provided a thirty (30) day notice to vacate. If you have legal concerns about housing, you should seek advice from 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 legal representative, this is a great website to start.
   
   If you certify based on earnings or assistance status, the Legal Aid Society might be able to assist. Keep in mind, Legal Aid has a client waiting list and seldom will cases happen fast. Contact the workplace 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 produced these truth sheets to assist you comprehend your rights and tasks as a renter. 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 use to property or non-residential residential or commercial properties or both. Codes examinations can occur at any time, though they are most common with brand-new building or remodelling. Building Codes 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 big county or local government have codes departments. Though, numerous towns and backwoods do not have any standardized minimum residential or commercial property maintenance codes. Several codes departments across the state have actually embraced the International Residential or commercial property Maintenance Code. Codes inspectors might check electrical, pipes, gas, zoning, and other physical aspects of a home. Contact your local codes department for information specific to your location.
   
   Often Building Codes will ask if a renter has actually already notified their proprietor about the need for repair and offered the property owner sensible time to make the repair. Afterward, Buiding Codes might perform an inspection. If there is an assessment, be sure to request a copy of any notes or citations. Bear in mind that Building regulations can only go to homes where the occupant has legal right to allow their check out.
   
   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 as of the 2010 U.S. Census. For these more inhabited counties, there are written requirements and defenses to rental arrangements including responsibilities for maintenance by the property manager to abide by requirements of suitable structure 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 rules for minimum health requirements for rental housing. These guidelines are part of Tennessee Code Annotated § 53-5502 rearranged as § 68-111 in Chapter 1200-1-2. The guidelines cover standard devices and facilities, light and ventilation, temperature level, and sanitation.
   
   Can I make a formal complaint?
   
   If a rental residential or violates minimum health requirements it might be unsuited for habitation. According to Tennessee Code Annotated § 68-111-101, tenants whose lease is $200 or less per week might submit a problem with their local structure inspector or county public health department. Complaints need to be filed in writing with your county health department and a copy must be forwarded by qualified mail to the proprietor. A certifying complaint can result in a home investigation. This part of the law does not apply to occupants who pay their rent monthly or for a term higher than month-to-month. For non-qualifying problems, other building codes or regulations that the structure inspector is licensed to impose, may apply to house rented at greater rates.
   
   What if I reside in federal government assisted housing?
   
   The federal government helps low-income households, the elderly, and the handicapped to pay for good, safe, and sanitary housing in the personal market. Participants discover their own housing, including single-family homes, townhouses, and houses. There is a yearly Housing Quality Standards (HQS) inspection 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 provided their rental Housing Choice Voucher (HCV).
   
   The Tennessee Housing Development Agency carries out agreement administration for Section 8 residential problems in 76 counties. If the residential or commercial property owner or representative is not fulfilling their duties, TDHA may step in. To learn more, call THDA at 1-800-228-THDA (8432) during regular business hours or go to the THDA webpage 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 get support can contact their regional 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 requirements, then HUD might step in to have the proprietor make repair work as required. 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 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 question about living in USDA-assisted rural housing you can contact your rural advancement regional office.
   
   Where can I find out more about healthy housing policy?
   
   Our Healthy Places website provides more info about the locations we live, work and play. Click on this link to find out more about healthy housing policies.
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