Clarksville, TN Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)

Sec. 4-603(a) makes it unlawful to occupy as owner-occupant or let any dwelling unit intended for living, sleeping, cooking, or eating that fails the chapter's facility list, and applies the same bar to vacant buildings kept in that condition. Sec. 4-603(b) requires every unit to hold a kitchen sink, lavatory, tub or shower, and water closet connected to an approved water and sewer system, with the bathroom fixtures grouped in a private room of at least thirty square feet and no dimension under four feet.

Hot and cold water must reach every kitchen sink, lavatory and tub, with water heating facilities able to deliver at least 120 degrees F. Heating facilities must safely warm every habitable room and bathroom; unvented gas heaters are capped at 30 Btu per hour per cubic foot of room content and barred from bedrooms outright, and any flue pipe or prefab fireplace that has suffered a chimney fire must be replaced unless the manufacturer says otherwise. Kitchens need a food-prep surface impervious to water, storage shelving or cabinets, a freestanding or permanently installed cookstove (portable electric units don't count), and mechanical refrigeration; an owner and tenant can sign a written agreement shifting the stove/fridge duty to the tenant, which becomes an affirmative defense if the owner is cited.

Every unit also needs approved garbage disposal facilities, compliance with the fire prevention code, and a UL 217 smoke detector installed to the manufacturer's listing with an audible alarm. The city's building inspector (Sec. 4-607) is the officer charged with acting on these standards.