Landlord-Tenant Law

Several constitutional provisions guide the relationship between a landlord and a tenant. These landlord-tenant laws are necessary to protect each party’s rights and clarify their responsibilities while the tenancy agreement is valid. The provisions also ensure that all disputes are impartially resolved to avoid further problems. The landlord-tenant law in each state covers several issues, including:

Landlord-tenant laws state that all landlords must provide habitable living areas for tenants. They also establish rules for the tenant’s use of a rental unit. Generally, landlord-tenant laws protect landlords and tenants alike.

According to landlord-tenant laws, parties to a rental or lease agreement are the landlord and the tenant. All landlord-tenant agreements have one landlord and at least one tenant, but some may include roommates or subtenants. The standard parties to rental agreements according to most landlord-tenant laws can be described as follows:

The landlord is the owner or official representative of the owner of the rental unit. A landlord may be an individual or a management company assigned the duty of managing the property. Landlord-tenant law requires landlords to make a rental unit livable for prospective tenants. While most landlord-tenant laws require landlords to handle repairs, California’s landlord-tenant law only requires landlords to repair serious defects. 

A tenant is a person, group of persons, or other entity recognized by landlord-tenant law that has signed a rental or lease agreement and has the right to occupy a rental unit. Tenants use rental properties for periods specified by rental contracts, and they may pay rent weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, or as landlord-tenant laws allow. 

Generally, landlord-tenant laws protect tenants from exploitation. For instance, a landlord cannot deny a tenant access to the unit except in emergencies. When the landlord requires entry in a non-emergency situation, the tenant must receive notice according to the state’s landlord-tenant law.

Although a tenant may be limited to a landlord’s offer, negotiating a new offer recognized by landlord-tenant law is possible. Generally, a landlord-tenant agreement may be a tenancy based on a lease or a tenancy at will.

A lease is a time-bound rental contract between a lessor who lets out a property, and a lessee who accepts usage of the property. Landlord-tenant laws state that this type of tenancy conveys property to the lessee for a long period, usually at least a year. Although fixed, the duration of a lease varies according to landlord-tenant laws. For instance, Indiana’s landlord & tenant law applies a maximum of three years to the standard residential lease. Longer agreements must be registered at the Recorder’s Office in the applicable county.

A tenancy at will is a rental arrangement without a fixed tenure. Landlord-tenant laws recognize a tenancy at will even though there is no contract between the parties, allowing either party to maintain the arrangement as long as mutually agreed. Tenancy at will may be initiated after a rental agreement expires if either party is unwilling to renew the agreement. A tenant law attorney can help to ensure that both parties enjoy a mutually beneficial arrangement without a contract.

All landlords and tenants have responsibilities clearly stated in the rental agreement or the state’s landlord & tenant law. Most landlord-tenant laws specify obligations for landlords and tenants, including but not limited to the following:

Landlord-tenant laws do not dictate the course of negotiations or how parties to an agreement should handle their discussions. However, both parties must have amicable conversations and reach a voluntary conclusion that agrees with the state’s landlord-tenant law. Tenants may handle negotiations or ask a tenant law attorney for legal advice based on local landlord-tenant law requirements. Negotiable terms include:

Several organizations handle tenancy matters according to landlord-tenant laws. In each state, the Attorney General’s Office is the organization to contact. Federal agencies include the:

Many Attorney General’s Offices feature a variation of the Consumer Advocacy & Response Division (CARD). This division handles consumer issues, including debt collection, tenant contract issues, mortgage servicing, financing, and related matters according to the state’s landlord-tenant law. Anyone needing consumer assistance or legal aid may find the consumer hotline or email to ask landlord-tenant law questions or to file a consumer complaint.

The terms of a rental agreement are contract terms accommodated by landlord-tenant laws that state the specifics of an agreement between a landlord and a tenant. These agreements should include the following:

A tenancy begins when both parties sign the agreement and the tenant makes the first payment. While there may be several other payments, landlord-tenant law allows landlords to request rent and security deposits. However, some landlord-tenant laws may enable landlords to also collect the last month’s rent in addition to the first month’s rent and security deposit.

According to landlord-tenant law, a security deposit is an amount paid by the tenant as a deposit for repairs of possible damage caused during the tenancy. Landlord-tenant laws allow landlords to use the deposit to repair those damages instead of paying out of pocket.

Landlord-tenant laws limit how much a landlord can collect as a security deposit. For example, the landlord-tenant laws in Massachusetts and the District of Columbia prevent landlords from collecting security deposits of more than one month’s rent. In Maryland, Missouri, and Iowa, landlord-tenant laws allow landlords to ask for two months’ rent for the deposit.

The last month’s rent is a prepayment for the last month of the tenancy. If a landlord collects this payment, the tenant will not have to pay rent for the last month of the lease. Some landlord-tenant laws allow landlords to specify that the last month’s rent will be used as a security deposit. These tenants can then request a full refund if no repairs are necessary.

A state’s sanitary code is a set of rules and regulations that provide a minimum standard for health requirements. These requirements may include standards for waste disposal, plumbing, and conditions for healthy habitation. For instance, the Massachusetts State Sanitary Code requires that all residences have a bathroom, kitchen, heat, hot and cold water, and windows.

Landlord-tenant laws protect tenants from indiscriminate eviction. Landlords who need to evict tenants must go through an eviction process as specified by the state’s landlord & tenant law. Generally, the parties are encouraged to try settling disputes before filing complaints with the Attorney General’s Office or going to court. Where all attempts at resolution fail, landlords may begin the eviction process according to their state’s landlord & tenant laws.

Parties looking to resolve disputes may simply schedule a meeting to address their issues. These meetings should clearly communicate each party’s rights and responsibilities according to the signed contract or the state’s landlord-tenant laws. If this meeting fails, parties can try local housing associations, tenant associations, or the district attorney’s office. There may also be community dispute resolution centers that help solve issues according to landlord-tenant laws, sometimes for a small fee. These methods help both parties avoid court hearings and litigation costs for tenant law attorneys.

The eviction process may take a few weeks or months, depending on factors like the reason for the eviction or the state’s landlord-tenant law. According to most landlord-tenant laws, the process usually includes the following:

Landlord-tenant laws in different states are clear on how to end tenancy. While either party may terminate a tenancy, the process may differ between states. For instance, Minnesota’s landlord-tenant law states that, for periodic tenancies, the tenant must provide the landlord with written notice at least one full rental period before the tenancy’s final day. The landlord-tenant law in California requires a landlord to issue a 30-day notice if the tenant has maintained a month-to-month tenancy for less than a year. Tenants renting for at least one year should receive a 60-day notice instead.