How is renting various 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 tenants and tenants 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 an official grievance? What if I live in federal government assisted housing? Does the USDA assist with renters in backwoods? Where can I find out more about healthy housing policy? Additional resources

* * * Our Healthy Homes personnel are not medical professionals or legal representatives. The information on our Healthy Homes Website does not provide medical or legal guidance. This details is not an alternative to visiting your physician or for seeking advice from a legal representative about your particular scenario. * * *

3 Actions a Concerned Renter Should Do:

1. Put everything in composing. Take photos and videos. Save e-mails, texts, letters, and voicemails. Write a calendar of events.

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

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

It is most likely prohibited for a property owner to retaliate against a tenant who submits a problem, calls Buiding Codes, or takes legal action. Changing locks, shutting off utilities, appearing often, or inappropriately raising rent can be retaliation.

How is leasing various from home ownership?

Renting is different from home ownership in that the occupant need to rely on somebody else to make repair work. The tenant may not have the ability to make changes to the home without consent. An occupant has both rights and responsibilities. Renting can be a good alternative for many individuals to maintain a healthy home environment, both inside your home and outdoors. Whether you lease a house, apartment, duplex, mobile home or cabin you can keep the 7 healthy homes concepts. Bear in mind that good health begins in the house.

What are my duties as a renter?

Renters are accountable for cleanliness and security. You might rent without any official arrangement, or you may have a lease arrangement. The most common kind of occupant in Tennessee is an occupant who signs a lease contract to pay rent monthly throughout the year. Renters might be asked to provide a down payment. Lease arrangements are lawfully binding agreements. You are accountable for following the regards to your lease. Some lease agreements have addendums such as pet policies, insect control agreements or for reporting water damage. You are accountable for: paying your rent on time, paying any late charges, keeping the place tidy and safe, not letting anybody else damage it, not breaking the law, getting rid of your garbage, and following your property manager's guidelines. 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?
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There are eight standard principles to maintaining a healthy home.

1. Keep it Dry. - Damp homes supply a good 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 might increase asthma attacks. Improper pesticide treatments for bug problems can intensify health problems, considering that pesticide residues in homes can position health dangers.
3. Keep it Safe. - Most of children's injuries happen in the home. Falls are the most frequent cause of domestic injuries to kids, followed by injuries from things 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. Bear in mind exposure is frequently higher inside.
5. Keep it Ventilated. - Studies have actually shown increasing fresh air in a home improves breathing health.
6. Keep it Maintained. - Poorly-maintained homes are at threat of being unhealthy.
7. Keep it Thermally Controlled. - Houses that do not keep appropriate temperatures might position the safety of citizens at increased risk from direct exposure to severe heat or cold.
   
   If you utilize these principles as a guide, you can maintain a safe and healthy home. If you are having a problem preserving any of these principles, 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 might be your obligation to fix the issue or it might be your landlord's responsibility to make repair work. Read your rental lease arrangement. Abide by any requirements for tidiness or safety. Report any required repairs to the property owner as they emerge. Putting your issues 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 property owner has not made repairs in a reasonable quantity of time, you might need to interact more directly, such as with additional written problems or a face-to-face conference. If your property owner continues to overlook your concerns, you might require to pursue legal action.
   
   Disputes in between a landlord and a renter are civil concerns. Most property manager and occupant 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 renters.
   
   What are my rights as a tenant?
   
   According to the Legal Aid Society, as an occupant you deserve to a livable location and to live quietly. Your rights as an occupant might vary depending on which county you reside in. The Legal Aid Society has a helpful reality sheet to help you your rights as a renter. How to get in touch with the Legal Aid Society or the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services is noted below.
   
   If your rental home requires 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 signal your property owner right away.
   
   If the need for repair work in not an emergency, then 2 week is normally considered as a reasonable amount of time for the landlord to make repairs. Hopefully, many repairs will be made much earlier after a proprietor is warned. Use your routine approach of reporting needs for repair such as a website, telephone call, text, or office check out. Put something into composing to document when you made the landlord familiar with the need for repair work.
   
   In some counties you can utilize some of your rent money to make these instant repair work. If the problem was your fault, you may need to assist pay for the repair work.
   
   You can not be forced out of your rental home. You can not be kicked out without notice. The property manager can not change the locks or shut down your energies to make you leave. The majority of the time, a property owner needs to go to court before evicting you. If you did something hazardous or threatening, the property owner just needs to offer you 3 (3) days to move out. If you did not pay lease or broke your lease arrangement, you might be provided a thirty (30) day see to leave. If you have legal questions about housing, you must talk to a lawyer or legal services.
   
   The Tennessee Alliance for Legal Serices has a HELP4TN website, chatbot, and telephone to help people who need aid with their legal issues. If you do not have your own lawyer, this is a great site to start.
   
   If you certify based upon earnings or assistance status, the Legal Aid Society might have the ability to help. Remember, Legal Aid has a customer waiting list and hardly ever will cases take place fast. Contact the office 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 produced these reality sheets to assist you understand your rights and duties as an occupant. Click the left image for counties of 75,000 or more population and the best 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 requirements. Codes can apply to residential or non-residential residential or commercial properties or both. Codes evaluations can take place at any time, though they are most typical with brand-new building and construction or restoration. Building regulations assist to guarantee safety within a building. It is necessary to have structures up to code. Landlords are accountable for satisfying Codes.
   
   All cosmopolitan areas in Tennessee have their own codes departments to impose Residential or commercial property Maintenance Codes. Many large county or city governments have codes departments. Though, numerous villages and backwoods do not have any standardized minimum residential or commercial property upkeep codes. Several codes departments across the state have actually adopted the International Residential or commercial property Maintenance Code. Codes inspectors might inspect electrical, plumbing, gas, zoning, and other physical aspects of a home. Contact your regional codes department for info particular to your location.
   
   Often Building Codes will ask if an occupant has actually currently informed their property manager about the need for repair work and offered the property manager reasonable time to make the repair work. Afterward, Buiding Codes might perform an assessment. If there is an evaluation, 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 occupant has legal right to allow their go to.
   
   What is URLTA?
   
   Tennessee Code Annotated § 66-28 is the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. URLTA only uses in counties of higher than 75,000 population since the 2010 U.S. Census. For these more populated counties, there are written requirements and securities to rental contracts including responsibilities for maintenance by the property owner to comply with requirements of applicable building and housing codes materially affecting healthy and safety, as listed in 66-28-304.( a).
   
   What are the minimum standards for rental housing?
   
   The Tennessee Department of Health is responsible for promoting guidelines for minimum health standards for rental housing. These rules become part of Tennessee Code Annotated § 53-5502 rearranged as § 68-111 in Chapter 1200-1-2. The guidelines cover basic equipment and centers, light and ventilation, temperature, and sanitation.
   
   Can I make a protest?
   
   If a rental residential or commercial property breaches minimum health standards it might be unsuited for habitation. According to Tennessee Code Annotated § 68-111-101, tenants whose rent is $200 or less each week may file a problem with their regional structure inspector or county public health department. Complaints require to be filed in composing with your county health department and a copy should be forwarded by licensed mail to the proprietor. A qualifying problem can result in a home examination. This part of the law does not use to renters who pay their lease regular monthly or for a term greater than monthly. For non-qualifying complaints, other building regulations or regulations that the building inspector is authorized to impose, may apply to home leased at higher rates.
   
   What if I reside in federal government assisted housing?
   
   The federal government assists low-income households, the senior, and the disabled to pay for good, safe, and hygienic 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) examination treatment to make sure that homes are tidy and safe. Renters with assisted housing, such as Section 8, must begin by talking with the office that released 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 representative is not fulfilling their responsibilities, TDHA might intervene. For more details, call THDA at 1-800-228-THDA (8432) throughout regular organization hours or check out the THDA web page anytime. Local public housing companies (PHAs) offer services in the other counties. Some 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 regional U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development office. A lot of HUD's programs have particular requirements for housing quality. If your housing is not up to requirements, then HUD may step in to have the property owner make repair work as essential. 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 help with occupants 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 living in USDA-assisted rural housing you can contact your rural development local workplace.
   
   Where can I find out more about healthy housing policy?
   
   Our Healthy Places webpage provides more details about the places we live, work and play. Click on this link for more information about healthy housing policies.