As a renter, it’s necessary to know the state and federal laws that affect your rights and responsibilities. You can be a better and more informed tenant by knowing these laws. This can enable you to have an ideal experience and avoid issues with your landlords in the long run. Here are several of the most important laws you should know about as a renter:
- Warranty of Habitability. Even when it goes by different names in different states, basically implied warranty of habitability laws is state laws developed to ensure that your rental unit is livable. In most states, this implies the rental home meets certain minimum standards for things same as heat, water, and electricity.
- Choosing a Tenant. State and federal laws bestow landlords the right to choose their tenants. But on the other hand, the laws furthermore denote that a landlord’s decision must be based on creditworthiness, income, or history. They cannot deny renting to someone because of things such as skin color, religion, sexual orientation, familial status, and disability.
- Fair Housing Act. The Fair Housing Act is a federal law that restrains landlords from discriminating against tenants based on protected characteristics such as race, religion, gender, national origin, and disability. This law was enacted in 1968 and entitles renters who really feel discriminated against because of one or more of these characteristics to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), doesn’t matter which state they live in.
- Limiting the Number of Children. Under the Fair Housing Act, a landlord cannot refuse to rent to a tenant just because of how many children the tenant has. The law further implies that a landlord cannot forbid children from using outdoor or common areas.
- Service Animals. Under federal laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act, service animals are allowed as a reasonable accommodation, and landlords cannot actually restrict nor can they charge an additional pet fee or really increase the rent since you have a service animal. But definitely, landlords can require that a service animal is vaccinated, licensed, and registered according to all state and local laws.
- Discriminatory Advertising. HUD’s federal Fair Housing Act also states that landlords cannot use discrimination in their advertisement of a rental property. For instance, publishing an ad stating that the landlord will not rent to single adults, people of a certain age, or won’t permit wheelchairs are all such examples of discriminatory advertising.
- Security Deposits. There are laws regarding how a Lakeland property manager must handle your security deposit. In most situations, the law allows a landlord to collect and then hold your deposit and could definitely use it to bring about repairs if you are negligent and damage something while inhabiting the house. There are federal limits laid on how much a landlord can charge as a security deposit – that is moreover denoted by state law.
- Illegal Lockouts. Conceding that there is no one federal law that makes locking out a tenant forbidden, laws in every state lay out the legal eviction process that makes locking a tenant out of their rental house an illegal offense. Eviction is a legal process that should be fulfilled rightly, or the landlord risks having the court rule in the tenant’s favor.
If you’re inquiring about a Lakeland rental home and property manager who recognizes and will conform to all tenant-landlord laws in Florida, Real Property Management Lakeside is who you can have faith in. Browse our listings online to find your next rental home!
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
