Your Rights as an Apartment Dweller
By Ron Leshnower, About.com Guide to Apartment Living / Rental
If you live in an apartment, you have many rights when it comes to your landlord, your neighbors, and even your roommates. Many federal, state, and local laws exist to ensure that you can enjoy your apartment with the comfort of knowing that, for example, your landlord can't evict you just because he feels like it or increase your rent without any notice. It's important to know as much as you can about your rights so that you can stand up for them if they're violated. You should also be familiar with fair housing laws, so you can identify instances of housing discrimination and take appropriate action.
Get Familiar With Your Rights
If you break your lease, do you have the right to leave without owing more rent? Can your landlord shut off your utilities in an attempt to get you to move out? What rights do you have when a neighbor drives you crazy with loud music? Find out here.
- How to Break a Lease
- Get Results When You Need Something from Your Landlord
- Don't Let Your Landlord Get Away With a Self-Help Eviction
- What It Means to Get Your Apartment "Broom Clean"
- Check Apartment Lease Before Buying a Pet
- Preserve Your Rights With a Written Roommate Agreement
- Deal With a Bad Neighbor
- Ask Landlord to Fix Faulty Thermostat
- Report Bad Landlords in Federal Housing to HUD
- What if Your Roommate Doesn't Pay Rent?
- What if Your Apartment Building Goes Into Foreclosure?
Identify and Avoid Housing Discrimination
As an apartment dweller, you have the right to enjoy your rental free from unlawful discrimination by your landlord, property manager, super, doorman, broker, or any other housing professionals. For example, your landlord can't treat you any less favorably than another tenant because of your race, religion, sex, or other protected characteristic. Read about how fair housing law may protect you from discrimination, how to file a claim against your landlord, and much more.
