owner and tenant lawMany states have based their laws on landlord-tenant law in uniform residential landlord and tenant (URLTA, Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act) and the Code residential landlord-tenant model (Model Residential Landlord-Tenant Code). State laws share some general principles of landlord-tenant law as contract law and property law governing relations between landlords and tenants.

While state laws mainly regulate the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants, federal laws also cover aspects of vacation and residential and commercial locations. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 (Civil Rights Act) and the federal equal access to housing (Federal Fair Housing Act) prohibits discrimination in the market for sale and rental housing.

Federal law prohibits discrimination on grounds of:
- Race
- Color
- Religion
- Nationality
- Sex
- Age
- Physical disability
- Mental incapacity
- Family situation

TENANT’S RESPONSIBILITIES

The tenant must pay their rent as stipulated in the lease. If the tenant does not pay the rent, the landlord can go to court to proceed with the eviction of the tenant. During the eviction, the landlord must comply with state laws and refrain from taking action on their own. “On your own” means to evict the tenant by force the tenant to vacate the property or change the locks on the property.

The tenant is responsible for maintaining the property in a reasonable state. The details of this responsibility is usually set by mutual agreement in the lease. If the lease does not provide details of maintenance responsibilities, the tenant must keep the property. At the end of the period of lease, the tenant must leave the property in the same condition it was received, except for reasonable wear and tear and depreciation. If the property has been left in good condition, the landlord must return the security deposit paid by the tenant.

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