Rights & Responsibilities of Landlords & Tenants
When you become a tenant, you owe certain duties to your landlord, such as the duty to pay rent. Your landlord owes you certain obligations too, such as the duty to deliver the apartment to you and to maintain it in safe, clean and livable condition. Your landlord must make sure the apartment has heat and hot water on a regular basis. If the apartment is a dwelling building that has more than three units, there are additional obligations that apply. Your landlord also must keep the common areas of the building clean and safe. Lastly, it is against the law for your landlord to discriminate against you, harass you, repeatedly ask you to move out or retaliate against you for enforcing your rights under the law.
If you have a lease, many of these rights and duties will be covered by the lease. However, even if you do not have a lease, you are protected by local, state, and federal laws.
Legal Editor: David Kaminsky, December 2014 (updated August 2020)
Changes may occur in this area of law. The information provided is brought to you as a public service with the help and assistance of volunteer legal editors, and is intended to help you better understand the law in general. It is not intended to be legal advice regarding your particular problem or to substitute for the advice of a lawyer.
Our Lawyers
Sophia S.
LRS Lawyer
Our lawyers are screened and approved – they have all gone through an application and interview process. Each lawyer we recommend has been screened for significant experience, knowledge of ethics codes and rules, and law office practices, including customer service skills and handling of fees and billing.
About Us
When you call us, you will be speaking with an attorney. One of our attorney referral counselors takes your call and talks with you about your legal question, or reviews your online referral request. There is no charge to speak with one of our attorney referral counselors -- we’re here to help.