Renter’s Advice and Resources

Despite legislation designed to protect you from housing discrimination, disability discrimination is still common. Fortunately, you have recourse. By understanding your rights and knowing how to assert them, you can rectify the situation when your rights have been violated. Disability Discrimination in Housing Laws In the U.S., the Fair Housing Act (FHA) is the federal […]

Knowing your renter rights will protect you from losing money or getting ripped off. Some landlords tend to violate renter rights in the same ways. Here are some common examples to watch out for: 1. Your Landlord Asks too Much for Deposits Your state’s law sets a limit as to much your landlord is allowed […]

You have found the perfect apartment or house to rent and are ready to sign the lease agreement. Before you do, make sure you carefully read it over, especially the section relating to the required security deposit. It is important for you to be aware of the landlord tenant act in your state, so that […]

Shortly after civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the federal Fair Housing Act (Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968). In 1988, the law was amended by the Fair Housing Amendments Act which added gender, familial status and disability to the list. Each […]

A security deposit is a sum of money that your landlord requires you to pay before you move into your apartment. Your landlord will hold onto the security deposit until you move out. The purpose of the security deposit is to protect your landlord in case you damage the apartment during the time you are […]

Water is absolutely necessary to stay healthy, but it can also make you sick: if your drinking water isn’t clean, it can cause all sorts of problems. It can be hard to tell just how safe your water is, though.

Learn about landlord responsibilities for clean drinking water, tenants’ rights, and steps to resolve water issues in rental properties.

Your living situation is a disaster: the sink has been leaking for months and nobody will repair it, and the heater is on the fritz, so you spend your days alternating between blankets and bikinis. Your landlord has been totally unresponsive to your verbal and written requests for repairs. Or maybe your landlord has served you with an eviction notice even though you don’t think you deserve it, since you pay your rent on time and keep things reasonably clean. What can you do? This article covers some of the ways in which you can legally dispute your landlord’s actions (or failure to act).

Imagine: you come home to your apartment after a hard day’s work, ready to kick off your shoes and relax with a beer (or your beverage of choice) and put your feet up on the coffee table. But wait–what’s this? As your turning your key you notice that the door wasn’t locked. Weird–you must have just forgotten to lock it on the way out. You kick off those shoes, drop your briefcase, and head for the fridge. On your way there you notice that half the linoleum tiles are missing from your kitchen floor. Tools and linoleum dust are scattered around your kitchen counter, and your cat is interestedly licking the linoleum dust. "Get out of that!" you yell. The cat obediently jumps off the counter and trots away. You wonder if maintenance is still somewhere in the apartment. That would explain the unlocked door. "Ummm, hellooo?" you call several times, wandering around your apartment and peeping into various rooms for evidence of someone responsible for the destruction in your kitchen (maybe the cat did it–not likely, though). You feel like an intruder on your own home. After determining that no one is in the apartment with you, you look for a notice of entry from maintenance but there is nothing to be found. You call the apartment management and leave a message about the situation. Bewildered, you decide to sweep up the dust and move on with your life.