Rental Property Rules
Tenant and landlord rights by state, security deposits, rent increases, eviction notice, repairs and habitability, landlord entry, and late fees, plus local rent control and just-cause eviction.
State law owns the landlord-tenant relationship, habitability, deposits, and notice periods included. City hall works in the gaps its legislature leaves open, and the gaps differ wildly by state.
Where the gap is wide, cities have built registration systems, proactive inspection programs, relocation-assistance mandates, just-cause eviction rules, and occasionally rent stabilization. Where the gap is narrow, the municipal code on renting can be nearly empty, and knowing which government wrote a given rule matters more than the rule's text.
All 50 States: Rental Property Rules at the State Level
Each tile shows the strongest state-level rule for that state. Click a state to see its full statewide rules and how local cities are constrained.
Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions
What's Covered
Rent Control
Local limits on how much landlords can raise rent each year, including which properties are covered and exemptions for newer buildings.
Just Cause Eviction
Protections requiring landlords to have a valid reason to evict tenants, such as nonpayment of rent, lease violations, or owner move-in.
Rental Registration
Requirements for landlords to register rental properties with the city, including inspection programs, fees, and occupancy standards.
Relocation Assistance
Required tenant relocation payments for no-fault evictions and Ellis Act withdrawals, typical amounts, qualifying triggers, and how cities enforce payment.
Security Deposit Rules
Caps on how much landlords may collect as security deposits, return deadlines, itemized-deduction requirements, and tenant remedies for wrongfully withheld deposits.
Cash-for-Keys Agreements
Rules around buyout agreements where landlords pay tenants to vacate, including required disclosures, cooling-off periods, and city filing requirements.
No-Fault Evictions
Allowable no-fault eviction grounds (owner move-in, Ellis Act, substantial remodel) and the relocation/notice obligations that come with each.
Pass-Through Charges
Rules limiting landlord ability to pass utility, capital improvement, or seismic-retrofit costs through to rent-controlled tenants, and the petition process.
Tenant Anti-Harassment
Cities like LA prohibit specific landlord conduct (lockouts, utility shutoffs, threats), penalties, private right of action, and how to document violations.
Source-of-Income Discrimination
Rules barring landlords from refusing to rent to applicants because of Section 8 vouchers, SSI, or other lawful income, protected categories and remedies.
Section 8 Voucher Acceptance
Landlord obligations when accepting Housing Choice Vouchers, including HACLA inspection, lease addenda, and rent reasonableness.
AB-1482 Notice Disclosure
California statewide rent-cap and just-cause notices required on month-to-month leases, separate from local RSO disclosures, and how cities enforce them.
Eviction Moratorium History
Status of pandemic-era eviction protections, what sunset, what carries forward as permanent rules, and tenant defenses still available for COVID-rent-debt.
Mold Disclosure
Landlord obligations to disclose known mold conditions before lease signing, plus tenant remedies when mold is discovered or made worse during a tenancy.
Rent Increase Notice
How much advance written notice a landlord must give before raising the rent on a month-to-month or expiring lease, and how state notice rules differ from any local rent-control caps.
Landlord Entry & Notice
How much advance notice a landlord must give before entering an occupied unit, the permitted reasons (repairs, showings, inspections), allowed hours, and the emergency exceptions under…
Repairs & Habitability
The implied warranty of habitability, how long a landlord has to fix essential services (heat, water, plumbing, mold), and tenant remedies such as repair-and-deduct, rent withholding…
Late Fees & Grace Periods
Whether late rent fees are capped, any required grace period before a fee can be charged, and limits on bounced-check (NSF) and other add-on charges under state law.
Lease Termination & Notice to Vacate
Notice required to end a month-to-month tenancy, the rules and penalties for breaking a fixed-term lease early, and early-termination protections for active-duty military…
Eviction Notice & Process
The notice a landlord must give before filing to evict, pay-or-quit and cure-or-quit periods, no-cause termination notice, how long the court eviction process takes in this state, and…
Squatter's Rights & Adverse Possession
When an occupant without a lease gains legal protections, the line between a trespasser and a squatter, how many years of continuous possession adverse possession requires in this…