1 Healthy Homes - Renters
Ermelinda Toler edited this page 2025-06-18 10:06:20 +00:00


How is renting different from home ownership? What are my obligations 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 renters and occupants 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 a protest? What if I reside in federal government assisted housing? Does the USDA assist with renters in rural areas? Where can I discover more about healthy housing policy? Additional resources

* * * Our Healthy Homes personnel are not medical professionals or legal representatives. The info on our Healthy Homes Website does not provide medical or legal recommendations. This information is not an alternative to visiting your physician or for talking to a lawyer about your specific circumstance. * * *

3 Actions a Worried Renter Should Do:

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

2. Do not stop paying lease. It would likely be versus 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 contract. Both renter and landlord have duties.

It is likely unlawful for a landlord to retaliate against a tenant who submits a grievance, calls Buiding Codes, or takes legal action. Changing locks, shutting down utilities, appearing often, or inappropriately raising rent can be retaliation.

How is renting various from home ownership?

Renting is different from own a home in that the occupant should depend on somebody else to make repairs. The tenant might not have the ability to make modifications to the home without consent. An occupant has both rights and duties. Renting can be an excellent option for lots of people to keep a healthy home environment, both indoors and outdoors. Whether you lease a home, house, duplex, mobile home or cabin you can keep the 7 healthy homes concepts. Keep in mind that health begins in your home.

What are my responsibilities as a tenant?

Renters are accountable for tidiness and security. You may rent without any formal agreement, or you might have a lease contract. The most common type of occupant in Tennessee is an occupant who signs a lease arrangement to pay lease monthly throughout the year. Renters may be asked to offer a down payment. Lease arrangements are lawfully binding agreements. You are accountable for following the terms of your lease. Some lease agreements have addendums such as pet policies, bug control contracts or for reporting water damage. You are accountable for: paying your rent on time, paying any late charges, keeping the place clean and safe, not letting anyone else damage it, not breaking the law, getting rid of your trash, and following your property owner's guidelines. If you break your lease, then it might end up being 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 standard concepts to keeping a healthy home.

1. Keep it Dry. - Damp homes offer a good environment for termites, roaches, rodents and molds. 2. Keep it Clean. - Clean homes help in reducing bug invasions and direct exposure to impurities. 3. Keep it Pest-Free. - Exposure to mice and cockroaches might increase asthma attacks. Improper pesticide treatments for pest infestations can intensify health issue, since pesticide residues in homes can pose health dangers. 4. 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 items in the home, burns, and poisonings. 5. Keep it Contaminant-Free. - Avoid exposure to lead, radon, carbon monoxide, pesticides, asbestos and ecological tobacco smoke. Bear in mind direct exposure is frequently higher indoors. 6. Keep it Ventilated. - Studies have revealed increasing fresh air in a home improves respiratory health. 7. Keep it Maintained. - Poorly-maintained homes are at threat of being unhealthy. 8. Keep it Thermally Controlled. - Houses that do not preserve adequate temperature levels might position the safety of citizens at increased risk from direct exposure to severe heat or cold.

If you use these principles as a guide, you can keep a safe and healthy home. If you are having an issue preserving 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 obligation to fix the problem or it might be your proprietor's responsibility to make repairs. Read your rental lease contract. Adhere to any requirements for tidiness or security. Report any required repair work to the proprietor as they occur. Putting your issues in composing is best. This creates a record of your concerns. Repairs to your rental home should be made in a reasonable quantity of time. The amount of time might be listed in your lease.

If your landlord has actually not made repairs in an affordable amount of time, you may need to communicate more straight, such as with extra composed grievances or a face-to-face meeting. If your proprietor continues to overlook your concerns, you may need to pursue legal action.

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

What are my rights as a renter?
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According to the Legal Aid Society, as a renter you can a livable place and to live quietly. Your rights as an occupant might differ depending on which county you live in. The Legal Aid Society has a useful fact sheet to help you comprehend your rights as a renter. How to call the Legal Aid Society or the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services is listed below.

If your rental home requires an emergency situation repair work to keep it healthy, such as a repair of the heat, gas, lights, water, sewage, plumbing or air conditioning, you need to alert your landlord right now.

If the need for repair in not an emergency, then 14 days is typically considered as a sensible quantity of time for the landlord to make repair work. Hopefully, many repair work will be made rather after a property owner is warned. Use your routine approach of reporting needs for repair such as a website, call, text message, or workplace check out. Put something into writing to record when you made the proprietor conscious of the requirement for repair.

In some counties you can use a few of your lease money to make these instant repair work. If the issue was your fault, you may need to assist pay for the repairs.

You can not be required out of your rental home. You can not be evicted without notification. The proprietor can not change the locks or turned off your utilities to make you leave. Most of the time, a proprietor needs to go to court before evicting you. If you did something hazardous or threatening, the property owner just needs to provide you three (3) days to vacate. If you did not pay rent or broke your lease agreement, you may be offered a thirty (30) day see to move out. If you have legal questions about housing, you should talk to an attorney or legal services.

The Tennessee Alliance for Legal Serices has a HELP4TN website, chatbot, and telephone to assist people who require assist 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 income or help status, the Legal Aid Society may be able to assist. Bear in mind, Legal Aid has a customer waiting list and rarely will cases happen fast. Contact the office 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 reality sheets to help you your rights and duties as a tenant. Click the left image for counties of 75,000 or more population 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 maintenance standards. Codes can use to residential or non-residential residential or commercial properties or both. Codes examinations can take place at any time, though they are most typical with new building and construction or restoration. Building regulations assist to guarantee safety within a structure. It is essential to have structures up to code. Landlords are accountable for satisfying Codes.

All cities in Tennessee have their own codes departments to enforce Residential or commercial property Maintenance Codes. Many big county or city federal governments have codes departments. Though, many villages and rural areas do not have any standardized minimum residential or commercial property maintenance codes. Several codes departments throughout the state have embraced 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 specific to your location.

Often Building regulations will ask if an occupant has already informed their property manager about the need for repair work and given the proprietor affordable time to make the repair work. Afterward, Buiding Codes might perform an evaluation. If there is an inspection, make certain to ask for a copy of any notes or citations. Bear in mind that Building Codes can just go to homes where the tenant has legal right to permit their go to.

What is URLTA?

Tennessee Code Annotated § 66-28 is the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. URLTA only applies in counties of greater than 75,000 population as of the 2010 U.S. Census. For these more inhabited counties, there are written requirements and defenses to rental agreements including responsibilities for upkeep by the property manager to comply with requirements of appropriate structure and housing codes materially affecting healthy and security, as noted in 66-28-304.( a).

What are the minimum requirements for rental housing?

The Tennessee Department of Health is accountable for promulgating guidelines for minimum health requirements for rental housing. These rules belong to Tennessee Code Annotated § 53-5502 reorganized as § 68-111 in Chapter 1200-1-2. The rules cover fundamental devices and centers, light and ventilation, temperature level, and sanitation.

Can I make a protest?

If a rental residential or commercial property breaches minimum health standards it may be unsuited for habitation. According to Tennessee Code Annotated § 68-111-101, renters whose rent is $200 or less per week may submit a complaint with their regional structure inspector or county public health department. Complaints need to be submitted in composing with your county health department and a copy need to be forwarded by certified mail to the property manager. A qualifying problem can lead to a home investigation. This part of the law does not apply to occupants who pay their lease monthly or for a term higher than monthly. For non-qualifying complaints, other building codes or regulations that the building inspector is licensed to enforce, may apply to domestic home leased at greater rates.

What if I live in government assisted housing?

The federal government helps low-income families, the elderly, and the handicapped to manage good, safe, and hygienic housing in the personal market. Participants find their own housing, including single-family homes, townhouses, and apartment or condos. There is an annual Housing Quality Standards (HQS) evaluation procedure to make sure that homes are tidy and safe. Renters with assisted housing, such as Section 8, must 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 obligations, TDHA might intervene. To learn more, call THDA at 1-800-228-THDA (8432) throughout regular company hours or go to the THDA web page anytime. Local public housing firms (PHAs) supply services in the other counties. A few of the regional offices are the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency, Murfreesboro Housing Authority, Memphis Housing Authority, and Knox County Housing Authority.

Renters who receive assistance can contact their regional U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development workplace. Much of HUD's programs have particular requirements for housing quality. If your housing is not up to standards, then HUD may intervene to have the landlord make repairs as required. 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 assist with tenants in rural locations?

Yes. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a rural advancement 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 contact your rural development regional office.

Where can I find out more about healthy housing policy?

Our Healthy Places web page supplies more information about the locations we live, work and play. Click on this link to find out more about healthy housing policies.