Landlord-tenant laws are constantly changing where small details are concerned, but it’s rare for big changes to take place. However, we have seen some big changes in the last several years. For instance, after the pandemic, many states made it illegal for landlords to give no-cause notices to vacate, which means tenants can only be asked to move out under specific circumstances. In those cases, the only reasons a landlord can ask a tenant to vacate for something other than a lease violation include the landlord or their family needing to occupy the unit and if the landlord is selling the house.
These changes are extremely tenant-friendly, as it prevents landlords from evicting people for discriminatory reasons. This is a step in the right direction. With the exception of a few states, tenants haven’t exactly been favored in a legal context, but that’s changing.
Currently, there are several bills being introduced across the U.S. that will create massive change in favor of tenants. People are finally starting to hold lawmakers accountable for ensuring better tenants’ rights.
Texas renters are gaining more leeway with late rent payments
A controversial bill was passed that gives Texas renters an extended grace period to pay late rent before they can be evicted. However, the bill – HB 2127 – contains other elements that people say strips authority from cities, and one judge has ruled that it violates the state constitution and also removes some tenant protections.
Although there is a lot of confusion surrounding this bill, it’s a positive sign that people are starting to consider protecting tenants from being evicted when they might just need a little more time to pay rent.
Not all tenants miss the rent because they don’t have the money. Sometimes, it’s a matter of disorganization and forgetfulness, and there are many ways to get those tenants to pay rent on time. For instance, property management companies collect rent online and some property owners offer a discount to tenants who allow them to automatically deduct rent payments from their bank account each month.
Texas tenants want the right to terminate their lease after outages
Texas is a landlord-friendly state and in many situations, that makes it hard on tenants. However, every once in a while, groups of people attempt to make changes that would favor tenants a little more. One such attempt was HB 1173 introduced in 2023. Although this bill died in committee, Texas residents are likely to see a new version soon, as is usually the case.
Under this proposed bill, landlords would have been required to allow tenants to break their lease as soon as 48 hours after a major utility outage. This bill was introduced to protect tenants from being forced to continue renting a home during storms that has no heat or power. Considering Texas recently experienced a sudden and unexpected major winter freeze that nobody was prepared for, and many people froze to death from a lack of heat, this bill doesn’t seem that unreasonable. However, landlords said it wasn’t fair because they can’t control the utility companies.
Although it doesn’t seem fair for a tenant to be able to break a lease over something a landlord can’t control, it prevents the tenant from being able to live comfortably. In the case of a major ice storm, it puts their life at risk. Landlords are already required to fix A/C units for tenants because of the extreme heat. Tenants shouldn’t be required to stay in a lease if their life is at risk because they don’t have access to basic utilities. However, that’s something that will need to be worked out through a future bill if one is submitted.
California tenants are fighting for the right to own pets
Many renters are facing a hard time finding a place to rent that will allow them to have pets. It seems like more property owners are adopting a no-pets policy than ever before, and California lawmakers are trying to change that.
The bill, AB 2216, would require landlords to accept pets, ban them from asking about pets on rental applications, limit pet deposits, and eliminate pet rent. Although many landlords don’t want to be required to accept pets, this seems like a reasonable bill for several reasons.
Damage is a valid concern, but most pets don’t cause damage that can’t be handled with the tenant’s security deposit. Also, pets are family members, and people are registering their pets as emotional support animals because it’s traumatic for animals to lose their family just because someone doesn’t want pets in their rental unit. Another problem this bill solves is stopping landlords from cashing in on pets by collecting pet rent. While pets can create extra wear and tear around the property, that’s not why landlords collect it. Many landlords admit to using the pet rent to recoup other losses, which isn’t legal or fair.
Tenants are gaining more rights, slowly but surely
Many people are currently fighting to give tenants more rights and protections across the United States. Although not all bills end up passing, it’s always a step in the right direction because sooner or later, positive changes will emerge.