Tenant Rights & Rental Housing
TENANT RIGHTS & RENTAL HOUSING
Tenant Rights and Rental Housing
Right to Habitable Housing
A landlord accepting rent has an obligation to provide housing that meets basic legal standards for:
structural safety;
sanitation;
electricity;
plumbing;
weather protection;
essential heating or cooling where required by law;
security;
serious pest infestation.
Repair Deadlines
Serious threats to health or safety should receive expedited repair requirements.
Examples include:
sewage;
dangerous electrical problems;
inability to secure the dwelling;
major water intrusion;
absence of essential heat during dangerous weather;
major structural hazards.
Other repairs should be completed within reasonable statutory periods.
Repair and Escrow Remedies
When a landlord receives proper notice of a serious legally required repair and fails to act, tenants should have lawful remedies that may include:
court-ordered repairs;
rent escrow;
repair-and-deduct procedures;
damages where appropriate.
Tenants must follow the required legal procedure rather than simply refusing rent without notice or justification.
Security Deposits
Security-deposit deductions should be itemized.
Landlords should provide evidence of claimed damages where reasonably available.
Normal wear and tear should not be charged as tenant-caused damage.
Unused deposits should be returned within a defined period.
Mandatory Move-In Condition Record
Landlord and tenant should receive a written or electronic record documenting the condition of the property at move-in.
Photographs and video may be used.
This protects both parties.
Retaliatory Eviction
A landlord should not retaliate against a tenant merely because the tenant:
requested lawful repairs;
reported unsafe conditions;
contacted code enforcement;
reported unlawful discrimination;
exercised another lawful tenant right.
Rental Price Transparency
Before signing a lease, tenants should know the actual required monthly cost.
Mandatory recurring charges should be clearly disclosed, including:
rent;
mandatory service fees;
technology packages;
pest-control charges;
required insurance charges;
mandatory utility fees;
other compulsory recurring costs.
Eviction Due Process
Legitimate tenants are entitled to notice and judicial process before forcible removal.
Landlords should not engage in unlawful self-help eviction, utility shutoff, or lockout.
At the same time, due process should not make legitimate removal of a person who violates a lease indefinitely impossible.
Related policies: Housing, Homeownership & HOA Reform; Property Rights, Land Use & Off-Grid Living; Consumer Rights; Right to Timely Government Service.
Status: Proposed / Draft — not yet formally adopted.
Originally published: August 15, 2026.
Last updated: September 25, 2026.
Version: Draft 0.1.