Renter's Rights

Your landlord is counting on you not knowing the rules. Most tenants don't — and that is precisely why deposits vanish, repairs stall for months, and people move out of homes they had every right to stay in.

This guide is the whole picture in one evening. What a landlord may and may not do about entry, repairs, rent increases and deposits. The letters that actually get answered — repair demands, deposit recovery, notice responses — written to be copied and sent tonight. Eight things landlords say to shut a conversation down, and exactly what to say back to each. What an eviction notice really means, what your deadlines are, and why only a court can remove you.

Plus a one-page cheat sheet with four blanks: fill them in with your state's numbers and a general guide becomes specific to your street.

General information, not legal advice. Landlord-tenant law varies sharply by state, county and city — check yours. No outcome guaranteed.