Your Rights as a Memphis Apartment Renter
Sep 15th, 2007 by Memphis Apartments
You might think that since you rent and do not own property, you have no rights as a Memphis apartment renter. This is not true. You have rights as a renter. Many of these rights are specific to Tennessee. There is also what you might consider universal tenant rights. Application of these rights might be influenced by state law.
You have the right to be treated cordially by your Memphis apartment landlord. He must follow standard laws that dictate behavior. He cannot discriminate against you based on race, gender or sexual orientation. He is required to consider reasonable accommodation requests made by tenants with disabilities. He is prohibited from engaging in harassing or retaliatory actions.
You have the right to privacy as it pertains to your personal information. You have the right to expect your Memphis apartment landlord will secure information about you. He is allowed to share your information only in specific situations. You must give him written permission to share your information with third parties. You have the right to expect that your landlord will not share your information with other tenants.
You have to right to a safe and decent living environment. This means that your landlord must meet, at minimum, local health and building codes. You have the right to expect maintenance on your Memphis apartment in a reasonable time period as indicated in your lease. The common areas should be clean and free of potential safety violations. You should feel safe that all systems in your Memphis apartment and building work properly. This includes electrical and plumbing systems.
Your right to safety extends to your Memphis apartment. You should be permitted to make your Memphis apartment as safe as possible. This might entail installing dead-bolt locks on your front door. Your peephole should work properly.
You have the right to know if your Memphis apartment landlord intends to sell the property. This is particularly important if the new owner plans to change the use of the property. You have the right to receive appropriate notice to vacate if new management intends to convert your Memphis apartment building into something else.
You have the right to reasonable notice that your landlord intends to increase your rent or change responsibilities. Your landlord may be paying all utilities at the moment but intends to shift that to you at the end of your current lease. You should be notified well in advance of this change so you can make an informed decision about assuming that responsibility or moving.
You have the right to receive an eviction notice in accordance with the law. If you have a current lease with your landlord, your landlord must have reason to evict you. You should not be surprised about the eviction notice. If you are renting month-to-month, your landlord does not need a reason to evict you. However, he still needs provide proper notice. This notice is usually a minimum of thirty days but can be as much as sixty days, depending on your lease.
You have the right to be notified of any action by the landlord that impacts your living space. This includes the use of pesticides. You should receive sufficient notice so that you can vacate your Memphis apartment if you need to. This is the same for maintenance work, particularly noisy work. Your landlord should inform you when to expect the work to begin and how long it will last. If you have noise intolerance, you can make alternative arrangements.
You have specific rights as a Memphis apartment renter. Several of your rights are outlined in your lease. Others are supported by the Tennessee State law. It is important that you fully understand your rights as a renter before entering into a lease.