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How is renting various from own a home? 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 a tenant? Fact sheets for occupants and renters throughout 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 formal complaint? What if I live in federal government assisted housing? Does the USDA help with tenants in rural areas? Where can I discover more about healthy housing policy? Additional resources
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* * * Our Healthy Homes staff are not medical professionals or lawyers. The details on our Healthy Homes Website does not offer medical or legal suggestions. This info is not a replacement for visiting your doctor or for seeking advice from with a legal representative about your particular scenario. * * *

3 Actions a Concerned Renter Should Do:

1. Put whatever in writing. Take photographs and videos. Save emails, 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 invoices as evidence you paid.

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

It is likely prohibited for a property manager to retaliate versus an occupant who submits a complaint, calls Buiding Codes, or takes legal action. Changing locks, shutting down utilities, revealing up often, or wrongly raising rent can be retaliation.

How is leasing various from own a home?

Renting is various from own a home in that the tenant must count on somebody else to make repairs. The occupant may not have the ability to make modifications to the home without approval. A tenant has both rights and responsibilities. Renting can be an excellent option for numerous people to keep 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. Keep in mind that health begins in your home.

What are my obligations as an occupant?

Renters are accountable for cleanliness and safety. You might lease without any formal arrangement, or you might have a lease contract. The most typical type of renter in Tennessee is a renter who signs a lease agreement to pay rent every month throughout the year. Renters may be asked to offer a down payment. Lease agreements are lawfully binding contracts. You are accountable for following the regards to your lease. Some lease contracts 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 charges, keeping the place tidy and safe, not letting anybody else damage it, not breaking the law, dealing with your trash, and following your landlord's rules. If you break your lease, then it might become a legal problem.

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 fundamental concepts to keeping 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 assist lower insect infestations and direct exposure to contaminants.
2. Keep it Pest-Free. - Exposure to mice and cockroaches may increase asthma attacks. Improper pesticide treatments for bug invasions can aggravate illness, considering that pesticide residues in homes can present health risks.
3. Keep it Safe. - Most of kids's injuries take place in the home. Falls are the most regular reason for property injuries to kids, followed by injuries from items in the home, burns, and poisonings.
4. Keep it Contaminant-Free. - Avoid direct exposure to lead, radon, carbon monoxide, pesticides, asbestos and environmental tobacco smoke. Remember direct exposure is often greater inside your home.
5. Keep it Ventilated. - Studies have actually revealed 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 might place the security of homeowners at increased risk from direct exposure to severe heat or cold.
   
   If you use these concepts as a guide, you can preserve a safe and healthy home. If you are having a problem keeping any of these principles, other parts of this site will have details 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 might be your obligation to repair the problem or it may be your property owner's responsibility to make repair work. Read your rental lease agreement. Comply with any requirements for cleanliness or safety. Report any needed repair work to the property manager as they develop. Putting your issues in composing is finest. This develops a record of your concerns. Repairs to your rental home ought to be made in an affordable quantity of time. The amount of time might be noted in your lease.
   
   If your landlord has not made repairs in a reasonable amount of time, you may require to interact more straight, such as with additional written grievances or an in person meeting. If your proprietor continues to overlook your issues, you might require to pursue legal action.
   
   Disputes between a proprietor and an occupant are civil problems. Most property manager and tenant issues are beyond the authority of the Health Department. These concerns would be ruled on by a civil court judge analyzing the law. There are some programs that support occupants.
   
   What are my rights as a tenant?
   
   According to the Legal Aid Society, as an occupant you can a livable location and to live peacefully. Your rights as a renter may vary depending on which county you reside in. The Legal Aid Society has a helpful fact sheet to assist you comprehend your rights as a renter. How to contact the Legal Aid Society or the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services is noted below.
   
   If your rental home requires an emergency situation repair work to keep it healthy, such as a repair work of the heat, gas, lights, water, sewage, pipes or a/c, you ought to alert your landlord immediately.
   
   If the need for repair in not an emergency, then 14 days is generally thought about as a reasonable amount of time for the property owner to make repair work. Hopefully, a lot of repairs will be made rather after a property manager is warned. Use your routine technique of reporting needs for repair work such as a site, telephone call, text, or office see. Put something into writing to record when you made the property owner familiar with the requirement for repair work.
   
   In some counties you can use some of your lease cash to make these instant repairs. If the problem was your fault, you may have to assist spend for the repairs.
   
   You can not be dislodged of your rental home. You can not be kicked out without notice. The property manager can not change the locks or shut off your energies to make you leave. The majority of the time, a proprietor requires to go to court before evicting you. If you did something harmful or threatening, the just requires to offer you three (3) days to leave. If you did not pay rent or broke your lease contract, you may be given a thirty (30) day observe to leave. If you have legal concerns about housing, you must consult with an attorney or legal services.
   
   The Tennessee Alliance for Legal Serices has a HELP4TN website, chatbot, and telephone to assist individuals who need aid with their legal concerns. If you do not have your own lawyer, this is a good website to start.
   
   If you qualify based on earnings or support status, the Legal Aid Society may be able to assist. Bear in mind, Legal Aid has a customer waiting list and hardly ever will cases occur fast. 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 reality sheets to help you understand your rights and duties as an occupant. Click the left image for counties of 75,000 or more population and the right 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 upkeep standards. Codes can use to property or non-residential residential or commercial properties or both. Codes assessments can take place at any time, though they are most typical with new building and construction or restoration. Building Codes help to make sure security within a building. It is crucial to have buildings up to code. Landlords are accountable for fulfilling Codes.
   
   All urban locations in Tennessee have their own codes departments to impose Residential or commercial property Maintenance Codes. Many large county or local government have codes departments. Though, numerous small towns and rural locations 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 may inspect electrical, pipes, gas, zoning, and other physical aspects of a home. Contact your regional codes department for details particular to your area.
   
   Often Building regulations will ask if a tenant has actually already notified their property owner about the need for repair and given the property owner sensible time to make the repair. Afterward, Buiding Codes may perform an assessment. If there is an evaluation, make certain to ask for a copy of any notes or citations. Remember that Building regulations can only visit homes where the renter has legal right to permit 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 since the 2010 U.S. Census. For these more populated counties, there are written requirements and protections to rental arrangements consisting of obligations for upkeep by the landlord to comply with requirements of applicable structure and housing codes materially affecting 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 belong to Tennessee Code Annotated § 53-5502 rearranged as § 68-111 in Chapter 1200-1-2. The guidelines cover fundamental equipment and facilities, light and ventilation, temperature, and sanitation.
   
   Can I make a protest?
   
   If a rental residential or commercial property violates minimum health requirements it might be unsuited for habitation. According to Tennessee Code Annotated § 68-111-101, tenants whose rent is $200 or less each week might submit a problem with their local structure inspector or county public health department. Complaints require to be submitted in writing with your county health department and a copy need to be forwarded by licensed mail to the proprietor. A qualifying grievance can result in a home investigation. This part of the law does not use to renters who pay their lease month-to-month or for a term higher than monthly. For non-qualifying grievances, other structure codes or ordinances that the structure inspector is authorized to impose, might apply to home rented at higher rates.
   
   What if I reside in government assisted housing?
   
   The federal government helps low-income households, the elderly, and the disabled to pay for decent, safe, and hygienic housing in the personal market. Participants discover their own housing, consisting of single-family homes, townhouses, and apartment or condos. There is a yearly Housing Quality Standards (HQS) inspection procedure to guarantee 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 domestic issues in 76 counties. If the residential or commercial property owner or representative is not satisfying their duties, TDHA may intervene. For more details, call THDA at 1-800-228-THDA (8432) during normal service hours or visit the THDA webpage anytime. Local public housing companies (PHAs) offer services in the other counties. A few of the regional workplaces are the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency, Murfreesboro Housing Authority, Memphis Housing Authority, and Knox County Housing Authority.
   
   Renters who receive help can contact their local 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 standards, then HUD might step in to have the property owner make repairs 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 tenants in rural locations?
   
   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 development regional office.
   
   Where can I find out more about healthy housing policy?
   
   Our Healthy Places website offers more information about the locations we live, work and play. Click on this link to find out more about healthy housing policies.