Rental Property Rules in Rhode Island (2026)
20 rules on the books across Rhode Island, 4 cities and counties. Select a rule to read the full details.
Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions
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.
Providence
Significant RestrictionsProvidence requires owners of multi-unit dwellings with six or more units to register the property annually with the…
Read full rule →Warwick
Significant RestrictionsWarwick requires every person, corporation or other entity that owns and leases residential property in the city to…
Read full rule →Pawtucket
Some RestrictionsPawtucket requires "absentee landlords," owners who don't live at their rental dwelling, to register with the Office of…
Read full rule →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.
Rhode Island: statewide
StatewideSome RestrictionsRhode Island law limits a residential security deposit to one month's periodic rent. After the tenancy ends, the…
Read full rule →Providence
Some RestrictionsRhode Island General Laws Chapter 34-18 caps residential security deposits at one month's rent and sets return…
Read full rule →Tenant Anti-Harassment
Cities like LA prohibit specific landlord conduct (lockouts, utility shutoffs, threats), penalties, private right of action, and how to document violations.
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 state law.
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, or breaking the lease.
Rhode Island: statewide
StatewideHeavy RestrictionsR.I. Gen. Laws Sec. 34-18-22 requires landlords to keep rentals fit and habitable, meet building and housing codes…
Read full rule →Cranston
Some RestrictionsCranston's minimum housing code sets structural, plumbing, and sanitation standards for every dwelling; owners must…
Read full rule →Pawtucket
Some RestrictionsPawtucket's Housing Standards chapter sets hard numeric minimums for rented dwellings: heat capable of 68°F at three…
Read full rule →Providence
Some RestrictionsProvidence enforces Rhode Island's statewide Property Maintenance Code (SBC-6) as its rental habitability standard…
Read full rule →Warwick
Some RestrictionsWarwick's housing code sets fixed equipment standards for every rental dwelling unit: a connected kitchen sink, a…
Read full rule →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, domestic-violence survivors, and medical hardships.
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 the tenant's options to respond or cure.
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 state, and how an owner lawfully removes a squatter.