1 Healthy Homes - Renters

Chau Benedict edited this page 2025-06-16 08:04:44 +08:00

How is renting different from home ownership? What are my responsibilities as an occupant? 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 during 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 government assisted housing? Does the USDA assist with tenants in backwoods? Where can I discover more about healthy housing policy? Additional resources

* * * Our Healthy Homes personnel are not doctors or legal representatives. The information on our Healthy Homes Website does not provide medical or legal suggestions. This information is not an alternative to visiting your doctor or for consulting with a legal representative about your specific situation. * * *
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3 Actions a Concerned Renter Should Do:

1. Put whatever in composing. Take photos and videos. Save e-mails, 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 receipts as proof you paid.

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

It is most likely unlawful for a property owner to retaliate against a tenant who submits a complaint, calls Buiding Codes, or takes legal action. Changing locks, turning off utilities, revealing up frequently, or inappropriately raising rent can be retaliation.

How is leasing various from own a home?

Renting is different from home ownership because the occupant should rely on somebody else to make repair work. The occupant may not be able to make modifications to the home without consent. A tenant has both rights and obligations. Renting can be an excellent alternative for many individuals to preserve a healthy home environment, both inside your home and outdoors. Whether you lease a house, home, duplex, mobile home or cabin you can keep the 7 healthy homes concepts. Bear in mind that health begins in your home.

What are my responsibilities as a tenant?

Renters are accountable for tidiness and security. You may lease with no official agreement, or you may have a lease contract. The most common type of tenant in Tennessee is a tenant who signs a lease contract to pay lease every month throughout the year. Renters may be asked to a security deposit. Lease contracts are lawfully binding contracts. You are responsible for following the regards to 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 lease on time, paying any late costs, keeping the place clean and safe, not letting anybody else damage it, not breaking the law, dealing with your trash, and following your landlord'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 in addition to 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 maintaining a healthy home.

1. Keep it Dry. - Damp homes provide a great environment for mites, roaches, rodents and molds. 2. Keep it Clean. - Clean homes assist lower insect invasions and exposure to contaminants. 3. Keep it Pest-Free. - Exposure to mice and cockroaches may increase asthma attacks. Improper pesticide treatments for insect problems can intensify health issue, considering that pesticide residues in homes can position health risks. 4. Keep it Safe. - Most of kids's injuries take place in the home. Falls are the most regular reason for residential injuries to kids, followed by injuries from things in the home, burns, and poisonings. 5. Keep it Contaminant-Free. - Avoid direct exposure to lead, radon, carbon monoxide gas, pesticides, asbestos and environmental tobacco smoke. Remember direct exposure is typically greater inside. 6. Keep it Ventilated. - Studies have shown increasing fresh air in a home enhances respiratory health. 7. Keep it Maintained. - Poorly-maintained homes are at risk of being unhealthy. 8. Keep it Thermally Controlled. - Houses that do not keep appropriate temperature levels might put the safety of locals at increased threat from exposure to extreme heat or cold.

If you utilize these concepts 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 website 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 obligation to fix the problem or it may be your property owner's obligation to make repair work. Read your rental lease contract. Comply with any requirements for cleanliness or security. Report any needed repair work to the property owner as they arise. Putting your concerns in writing is best. This produces a record of your concerns. Repairs to your rental home need to be made in a reasonable amount of time. The quantity of time may be noted in your lease.

If your proprietor has not made repair work in an affordable amount of time, you may require to interact more straight, such as with extra composed problems or an in person conference. If your landlord continues to neglect your concerns, you might need to pursue legal action.

Disputes between a landlord and an occupant are civil concerns. 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 tenants.

What are my rights as an occupant?

According to the Legal Aid Society, as a tenant you can a livable place and to live peacefully. Your rights as a renter might vary depending on which county you live in. The Legal Aid Society has a beneficial truth sheet to assist you understand your rights as an occupant. 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 air conditioning, you must notify your proprietor right now.

If the requirement for repair in not an emergency, then 2 week is usually thought about as an affordable amount of time for the landlord to make repairs. Hopefully, a lot of repairs will be made rather after a landlord is warned. Use your regular method of reporting requirements for repair such as a website, phone call, text message, or workplace check out. Put something into writing to document when you made the property owner aware of the requirement for repair.

In some counties you can use some of your rent money to make these instant repairs. If the problem was your fault, you might have to assist pay for the repairs.

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 off your energies to make you leave. The majority of the time, a proprietor needs to go to court before evicting you. If you did something hazardous or threatening, the landlord only requires to provide you 3 (3) days to vacate. If you did not pay rent or broke your lease agreement, you may be provided a thirty (30) day observe to leave. If you have legal concerns about housing, you must talk to an attorney or legal services.

The Tennessee Alliance for Legal Serices has a HELP4TN site, chatbot, and telephone to help individuals who require help with their legal concerns. If you do not have your own attorney, this is an excellent website to begin.

If you qualify based on earnings or help status, the Legal Aid Society might have the ability to assist. Bear in mind, Legal Aid has a client waiting list and rarely will cases occur fast. Contact the office 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 produced these truth sheets to assist you understand your rights and tasks as a renter. 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 standards. Codes can apply to property or non-residential residential or commercial properties or both. Codes assessments can occur at any time, though they are most typical with new building or remodelling. Building regulations assist to guarantee security within a building. It is very important to have buildings 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 governments have codes departments. Though, many small towns and backwoods do not have any standardized minimum residential or commercial property maintenance codes. Several codes departments throughout the state have actually embraced the International Residential or commercial property Maintenance Code. Codes inspectors may check electrical, pipes, gas, zoning, and other physical aspects of a home. Contact your local codes department for info particular to your location.

Often Building regulations will ask if a renter has actually already notified their landlord about the need for repair and provided the proprietor affordable time to make the repair work. Afterward, Buiding Codes may perform an evaluation. If there is an evaluation, be sure to request a copy of any notes or citations. Bear in mind that Building Codes can just visit homes where the tenant 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 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 securities to rental contracts consisting of responsibilities for upkeep by the property manager to abide by requirements of applicable structure and housing codes materially impacting healthy and security, as noted in 66-28-304.( a).

What are the minimum standards for rental housing?

The Tennessee Department of Health is responsible for promulgating guidelines for minimum health standards for rental housing. These rules are part of Tennessee Code Annotated § 53-5502 reorganized as § 68-111 in Chapter 1200-1-2. The guidelines cover standard equipment and centers, light and ventilation, temperature level, and sanitation.

Can I make a formal complaint?

If a rental residential or commercial property violates minimum health requirements it may be unfit for habitation. According to Tennessee Code Annotated § 68-111-101, tenants whose rent is $200 or less per week might submit a problem with their local structure inspector or county public health department. Complaints require to be filed in writing with your county health department and a copy should be forwarded by qualified mail to the property owner. A certifying complaint can result in a home investigation. This part of the law does not apply to tenants who pay their lease month-to-month or for a term greater than month-to-month. For non-qualifying problems, other building codes or regulations that the structure inspector is authorized to impose, may be appropriate to house leased at higher rates.

What if I live in federal government assisted housing?

The federal government helps low-income families, the senior, and the disabled to pay for good, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market. Participants find their own housing, consisting of single-family homes, townhouses, and apartment or condos. There is a yearly Housing Quality Standards (HQS) assessment treatment to ensure that homes are clean and safe. Renters with assisted housing, such as Section 8, need to start by talking with the workplace that issued their rental Housing Choice Voucher (HCV).

The Tennessee Housing Development Agency performs agreement administration for Section 8 property problems in 76 counties. If the residential or commercial property owner or representative is not satisfying their responsibilities, TDHA might intervene. To learn more, call THDA at 1-800-228-THDA (8432) throughout regular organization hours or go to the THDA web page anytime. Local public housing companies (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 contact their local U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development workplace. A number of HUD's programs have specific requirements for housing quality. If your housing is not up to standards, then HUD may step in to have the proprietor 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 assist with renters 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 concern about residing in USDA-assisted rural housing you can contact your rural development local workplace.

Where can I discover more about healthy housing policy?

Our Healthy Places webpage provides more details about the locations we live, work and play. Click here for more information about healthy housing policies.