When you are a tenant, knowing your rights is the thing you should definitely fully know on your end. Having enough knowledge about this can help you a lot. This is especially true during this time of the pandemic, wherein there are a lot of people being unruly evicted. But what exactly are the rights that you should know as a tenant/home renter?
What Are the Rights You Should Know as a Tenant?
Evicted!
When you are a tenant, there are certain rights that you should know. Having known those said rights can help one from sticky situations such as encountering unlawful evictions. According to Legal Zoom, listed below are the known tenant rights that should know when renting out a property:
1. You have your housing rights that should be fair. A renter cannot be rejected under the Fair Housing Act due to the following factors based on the following:
- Race
- Color
- Religion
- Age
- Sex
- Nationality
- Family status
- Physical/Mental disability
2. Having the right to a home that is habitable. This is one of the crucial rights of a tenant/renter. This means that the home that you are living in should be suitable for home living, wherein safety is a priority. Also, having proper and working utilities such as electricity and water is a must.
3. Having a right and fair security deposit. This means that you shouldn't be charged in regards to your deposit unfairly. You cannot be charged more than stated by the landlord or by state law (depending on the location).
4. You should have fair rights when it comes to eviction. You can be evicted by your landlord if you have broken some rules that they have put in place, but they cannot do so without good and valid reasoning.
5. Be wise and learn about your rights as a tenant. You can do this by reviewing your renting agreement with your landlord and making sure that you fully understand the document. Additionally, make sure that there is insurance for your personal belongings from theft & damage while renting.
6. Get in touch with proper authorities if your landlord has broken your rights as a tenant. You can consult your local law office and law authorities if your right has been broken by your landlord for unfair reasons.
Other Tenant Rights (and Some Stuff) That You Should Know on Your End
Aside from those mentioned tenant rights above, there are others (and additional stuff) that you should also know as well. According to RocketLawyer, below are those other rights and stuffs that you should definitely know:
Landlords have a responsibility for their tenants. But as a tenant yourself, you also have responsibilities to them as well. Do take note that this will be a give-and-take situation, wherein both sides will positively benefit if done correctly.
Immediately seek proper law assistance before, during, and after an unruly eviction from your home. Just letting your landlord who evicted you without a proper process is a big no. Make sure to defend your rights as a tenant by getting in touch with the proper authorities.
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