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Back to Renting? Know Your Rights
As a renter, your rights begin before you even move in.
Feb. 9, 2009 — -- Every few weeks I try to answer questions from you, the readers. The question below about renters' rights is particularly appropriate right now because people who were once homeowners are once again becoming renters due to the wave of foreclosures.
If home ownership was a goal of yours, don't despair. If it's important to you, you will once again own a home. In the meantime, think of it as a vacation!
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One of my favorite childhood memories is the year my family moved to a rental house. No urges to decorate extensively. We couldn't remodel. And if something broke we just made a phone call. We focused more on being together in the house rather than on the house itself.
Q: I transferred 200 miles to a new area and trusted a real estate company to put me in a good rental house. It was trashed. They never fixed things. They never cleaned it. I had no water for 3 days and unusable water for my first month. County code violations were never fixed because the owner paid only two months into her mortgage. I never got a copy of my lease and no lawyer will help me because of that. Despite all my requests, they never sent it. The non-agent lied to us about everything. For one year I have been trying to have someone from this transaction be responsible! --NC, Florida
A: There are lousy landlords out there and also terrible tenants. Both have rights. Keep in mind, landlord/tenant law is typically set at the county or state level, so it's impossible to list every possible variation here. However, I can fill you in on the key issues and how they are typically handled. Renters are some of the people I have heard from most in my years as a consumer reporter. Most are angry. Some cry. I can see why. After all, shelter is one of our most basic human needs.
Your rights begin even before you move in. Many states have laws limiting how much rental application fees can cost. In one state the cap is $25, and landlords can only use that fee to pay for a credit check. Most states also limit the size of the security deposit. Often it's not allowed to exceed the cost of one or two months' rent. Not all places require the landlord and tenant to enter into a lease, but it's a good idea, because it defines the rights and responsibilities of both sides. For those who are reading this column preemptively, DO NOT MOVE IN without a written lease.
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