Housing laws provide guidelines for landlords and tenants, covering issues such as security deposits, damages, entry into the unit, and rental prices. Some jurisdictions limit security deposits and regulate fees for repairs and renovations. Housing laws also address landlord entry and some cities have rent control boards.
Landlord and tenant laws vary from place to place. The purpose of housing laws is to make sure that both parties to these rental disputes have a clear guideline on how to proceed. The various types of these laws cover most of the common issues that arise between landlords and tenants, including the security deposit, normal and customary damages, entry into the unit, and rental prices.
Some jurisdictions limit security deposits, such as requiring no more than one month’s rent. Landlord and tenant laws also cover how a landlord must handle the deposit once it is received. In some places, landlords must keep the deposit in a separate bank account and may have to repay the amount, plus interest, to the tenant after occupancy. Other jurisdictions are less stringent about how the landlord handles the money after it is received.
In some places, landlord and tenant laws regulate the fees that a landlord can charge a tenant for repairs and renovations. For example, repainting the walls may be something the landlord cannot charge the tenant for, because repainting the walls will be common in rental units. Landlord and tenant laws could also control how landlords charge for common replacements, like carpeting. A common way to calculate a tenant’s liability is to divide the price of new carpeting by the number of years the carpeting has been installed. The tenant is therefore only responsible for a portion of the price and not for its entirety.
Another important issue in housing law is when and how the landlord should enter the premises. Some laws will dictate how much notice landlords must give to their tenants who will be entering the premises. In many cases, the landlord can only enter without the tenant’s approval under certain circumstances. Although the landlord owns the property, the tenant has rights to privacy, and the law balances those rights against each other. Tenants, by the same token, must grant access to their rental units to landlords under certain circumstances.
Most cities allow the market to determine the price landlords can charge for rent. If the rent is too high, no one will rent the unit. However, some cities and counties have rent control boards that determine fair market value. These boards, which are typically found in large cities, do not allow the rent to exceed a certain price. Renters may not fit into certain price ranges, or the board may cap rates based on inflation and other factors.
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