Tennessee Department of Health, If You Rent a Place, Know Your Legal Rights and Duties

agreement with the
Warning! If the landlord didn’t cash your check or
landlord? The landlord must give you 14
days to leave before he goes to court.
money order, a receipt may not help. Have you
paid late before? Then the landlord does not have
• What if you didn’t do anything wrong, but to take your payment after the 5 days.
your landlord still wants you out? If you
don’t have a lease, the landlord can evict What if the judge says you must move? Then you
you without a reason. But he must tell you have at least 10 more days to get out. After that,
in writing to move before he goes to court. the sheriff’s department will come and you and
your belongings will be set out.
Do you pay rent each month? Then the
notice must give you at least 30 days to
move. If you pay rent each week, it must
give you 10 days to move.
• The landlord can’t make you move for
reasons that break Fair Housing laws. To When You
find out more about this law, read page 4
in this booklet.
Move Out
Read your lease. You may
have to pay extra if you move
before the lease is up. And
you may not get your security deposit back if you
You may NOT have move out early.
to move if you file
bankruptcy right You may have to pay extra if you don’t tell the
away landlord before you move. The lease may say
how far ahead you must tell the landlord. You
A Chapter 13 bankruptcy may work if you are must tell him in writing. Follow the rules in your
behind on rent. BUT you must pay any past due lease.
rent within 30 days.
Important! Don’t just break your lease and move
To find out more, see the Legal Aid paper on out. Your landlord can take you to court. You
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. If you want to file a may have to pay the rent even if you don’t live
Chapter 13, see a lawyer right away. there now.
Page 8 of 11
Ending