Renters' Rights - 12th Edition by Ann O'Connell (Paperback)

About the Book

Despite growing numbers of renters nationwide, it's getting harder and harder to be a renter. Rising rents, greater barriers to entry to homeownership, and more institutional landlords mean that people who rent need to become more knowledgeable about what they're entitled to before, during, and after they enter into a lease or rental agreement.

Book Synopsis

Renters' Rights lets you know what battles are worth fighting and how to handle the challenges of renting confidently and legally.

Sooner or later it will happen... . The landlord ignores your repair requests. Your roommates are once again late with their share of the rent. Your upstairs neighbors party all the time. The landlord won't return your security deposit. How can you deal with these problems--and others--or prevent them from happening at all? Turn to Renters' Rights if you need to:

• break a lease and leave early


• understand your credit and other consumer reports used to evaluate you as a tenant


• sublet your apartment


• deal with unwelcome landlord intrusions


• resolve a dispute with your roommate


• get your landlord to make repairs


• collect the security deposit you're owed, and


• fight discrimination or retaliation.

The 12th edition is completely updated to reflect changes to state laws and federal antidiscrimination laws. It also includes advice on how to deal with corporate landlords and property managers.

Review Quotes

"This lively, practical and occasionally humorous new book... is another in the Nolo series that makes learning about legal topics interesting and almost fun." San Jose Mercury News

"Get Portman's Renters Rights: The Basics... and research quirks in rental law specific to the state where your teen will be going to college." Houston Chronicle

"If landlords nationwide were to recommend [this] book to renters, I'd bet only half of today's landlord/tenant problems would exist in the future." Orlando Sentinel

"In this book of accessible advice for renters, chapters are organized chronologically, from finding and applying for an apartment, through leases and rental agreements, security deposits, repairs and maintenance, ending your tenancy, and getting the deposit back. Other chapters are devoted to discrimination, roommates, tenants' rights to privacy, landlord retaliation, and negotiating a settlement. In addition to an entire chapter on rent control, the rent control perspective is integrated into every chapter. Appendices give links for finding landlord-tenant laws online, plus many detailed charts comparing state laws related to aspects of renting, such as deposit rules and domestic violence situations. The reader-friendly layout includes many subheads, summary boxes, bullet points, web links, suggested books, and chapter ending key points." Eithne O'Leyne, Editor Ringgold, Inc. ProtoView