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How is leasing various from own a home? What are my responsibilities 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 an occupant? Fact sheets for tenants and occupants 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 federal government assisted housing? Does the USDA help with occupants in rural areas? Where can I learn more about healthy housing policy? Additional resources

* * * Our Healthy Homes staff are not doctors or lawyers. The details on our Healthy Homes Website does not supply medical or legal suggestions. This details is not a replacement for visiting your medical professional or for consulting with an attorney about your specific situation. * * *

3 Actions a Concerned Renter Should Do:

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

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

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

It is likely unlawful for a property owner to strike back against a tenant who submits a problem, calls Buiding Codes, or takes legal action. Changing locks, turning off utilities, appearing typically, or inappropriately raising rent can be retaliation.

How is renting various from home ownership?

Renting is various from home ownership because the occupant should count on somebody else to make repairs. The tenant might not have the ability to make changes to the home without approval. An occupant has both rights and obligations. Renting can be an excellent alternative for many individuals to preserve a healthy home environment, both indoors and outdoors. Whether you rent a house, home, duplex, mobile home or cabin you can keep the 7 healthy homes concepts. Remember that excellent health starts in the house.

What are my responsibilities as an occupant?

Renters are accountable for cleanliness and safety. You may rent without any official arrangement, or you may have a lease arrangement. The most typical kind of occupant 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 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 costs, keeping the place clean and safe, not letting anybody else damage it, not breaking the law, getting rid of your trash, and following your landlord's rules. If you break your lease, then it might become 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 eight basic principles to preserving a healthy home.

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

1. Keep it Clean. - Clean homes help lower 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 invasions can intensify health problems, because pesticide residues in homes can present health threats.
3. Keep it Safe. - Most of kids's injuries happen in the home. Falls are the most regular reason for residential 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, pesticides, asbestos and ecological tobacco smoke. Remember exposure is frequently greater inside your home.
5. Keep it Ventilated. - Studies have actually shown 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 preserve adequate temperatures might place the security of locals 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 maintaining any of these principles, other parts of this site 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 obligation to repair the problem or it might be your property manager's duty to make repairs. Read your rental lease contract. Adhere to any requirements for cleanliness or safety. Report any needed repairs to the property manager as they emerge. 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 sensible quantity of time. The quantity of time might be listed in your lease.
   
   If your proprietor has not made repair work in an affordable amount of time, you might need to communicate more directly, such as with additional written complaints or an in person conference. If your landlord continues to neglect your concerns, you may to pursue legal action.
   
   Disputes in between a proprietor and a renter are civil problems. Most proprietor and renter 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 occupants.
   
   What are my rights as a tenant?
   
   According to the Legal Aid Society, as a tenant you deserve to a livable location and to live in harmony. Your rights as a tenant may differ depending on which county you live in. The Legal Aid Society has a useful reality 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 work to keep it healthy, such as a repair work of the heat, gas, lights, water, sewage, pipes or cooling, you must inform your landlord right away.
   
   If the need for repair work in not an emergency, then 2 week is usually considered as an affordable quantity of time for the property owner to make repair work. Hopefully, the majority of repair work will be made much quicker after a proprietor is warned. Use your routine approach of reporting requirements for repair work such as a website, phone call, text, or office check out. Put something into composing to document when you made the property manager familiar with the need for repair work.
   
   In some counties you can utilize a few of your lease cash to make these immediate repair work. If the issue was your fault, you might need to assist pay for the repair work.
   
   You can not be required out of your rental home. You can not be evicted without notification. The property manager can not change the locks or shut down your utilities to make you leave. Most of the time, a property manager needs to go to court before evicting you. If you did something hazardous 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 arrangement, you might be given a thirty (30) day discover to leave. If you have legal concerns about housing, you should consult 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 issues. If you do not have your own legal representative, this is an excellent site to start.
   
   If you certify based on earnings or assistance status, the Legal Aid Society may be able to assist. Remember, Legal Aid has a customer waiting list and hardly ever will cases happen quickly. 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 created these truth sheets to help you understand your rights and tasks as a tenant. Click the left image for counties of 75,000 or more population and the best 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 upkeep requirements. Codes can use to property or non-residential residential or commercial properties or both. Codes inspections can occur at any time, though they are most typical with brand-new building and construction or remodelling. Building regulations assist to ensure safety within a structure. It is essential to have structures up to code. Landlords are accountable for satisfying Codes.
   
   All cosmopolitan locations in Tennessee have their own codes departments to enforce Residential or commercial property Maintenance Codes. Many large county or local government have codes departments. Though, numerous villages and rural areas do not have any standardized minimum residential or commercial property upkeep codes. Several codes departments throughout the state have actually adopted the International Residential or commercial property Maintenance Code. Codes inspectors might examine electrical, plumbing, gas, zoning, and other physical aspects of a home. Contact your regional codes department for info specific to your place.
   
   Often Building Codes will ask if a renter has actually currently notified their proprietor about the need for repair work and offered the property owner sensible time to make the repair work. Afterward, Buiding Codes may perform an inspection. If there is an inspection, make sure to ask for a copy of any notes or citations. Remember that Building regulations can just go to homes where the occupant has legal right to enable 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 greater than 75,000 population since the 2010 U.S. Census. For these more inhabited counties, there are written requirements and defenses to rental arrangements consisting of responsibilities for maintenance by the proprietor to adhere to requirements of applicable structure and housing codes materially affecting 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 standards for rental housing. These guidelines belong to Tennessee Code Annotated § 53-5502 rearranged as § 68-111 in Chapter 1200-1-2. The rules cover standard 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, tenants whose lease is $200 or less each week might file a complaint with their regional building inspector or county public health department. Complaints need to be filed in writing with your county health department and a copy need to be forwarded by licensed mail to the proprietor. A certifying complaint can result in a home investigation. This part of the law does not use to renters who pay their rent monthly or for a term higher than regular monthly. For non-qualifying complaints, other building codes or regulations that the structure inspector is authorized to impose, may apply to home rented at higher rates.
   
   What if I reside in government assisted housing?
   
   The federal government helps low-income households, the senior, and the handicapped to pay for decent, safe, and hygienic housing in the personal market. Participants discover their own housing, consisting of single-family homes, townhouses, and houses. There is an annual Housing Quality Standards (HQS) assessment treatment to make sure that homes are tidy and safe. Renters with assisted housing, such as Section 8, need to start by talking with the office that provided their rental Housing Choice Voucher (HCV).
   
   The Tennessee Housing Development Agency performs contract administration for Section 8 property problems in 76 counties. If the residential or commercial property owner or representative is not fulfilling their responsibilities, TDHA may step in. For additional information, call THDA at 1-800-228-THDA (8432) throughout normal service hours or go to the THDA webpage anytime. Local public housing agencies (PHAs) offer 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 call their local 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 standards, then HUD might intervene to have the landlord make repair work 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 tenants in backwoods?
   
   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 living in USDA-assisted rural housing you can call your rural development regional workplace.
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   Where can I discover more about healthy housing policy?
   
   Our Healthy Places webpage provides more details about the places we live, work and play. Click here to find out more about healthy housing policies.