2024 -- S 2417

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LC003824

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2024

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO PROPERTY -- RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT

     Introduced By: Senators Mack, Euer, Gu, and Bell

     Date Introduced: February 12, 2024

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Chapter 34-18 of the General Laws entitled "Residential Landlord and Tenant

Act" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

     34-18-61. Tenant's bill of rights.

     A tenant shall be provided the following rights:

     (1)(i) Prior to the commencement of any hearing, the judge shall advise the tenant in any

eviction matter, that if they are financially unable to engage counsel and there are children that are

permanent residents of the dwelling, they are entitled to the services of the public defender. The

public defender shall, at the request of a judge of the district court, appear in court on behalf of that

person.

     (ii) The tenant shall also be advised that counsel may be available to the tenant from Rhode

Island Legal Services or the Rhode Island Center for Justice.

     (2) The right to habitability in accordance with § 45-24.3-6.

     (3) Tenants shall be permitted to freely and peacefully come together, free from

harassment, to organize for their rights in accordance with § 34-18-46.

     (4) A first right of refusal to purchase the real property in which they reside in the event a

landlord desires to sell the property. The landlord shall provide the tenant with a sixty (60) day

period to exercise the right of first refusal which shall be based on identical terms the property is

offered to any other potential purchaser. This provision shall exclude the sale of a single "dwelling

unit" as defined in § 45-24-31.

     (5) It shall be unlawful for a landlord or any person or other entity whose business includes

showing, leasing or renting properties to prospective tenants to discriminate against any person in

making available a rental property, or in the terms and conditions of the rental property, because of

race, color, religion, marital status, former service in the military irrespective of discharge status,

active service in the armed forces, country of ancestral origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender

identity or expression, age, disability, familial status, source of income, or employment or lack

thereof; criminal record or housing, or credit score.

     (6) The right to be free from eviction without good cause pursuant to §§ 34-18-35 and 34-

18-36.

     SECTION 2. Sections 34-18-15 and 34-18-30 of the General Laws in Chapter 34-18

entitled "Residential Landlord and Tenant Act" are hereby amended to read as follows:

     34-18-15. Terms and conditions of rental agreement.

     (a) A landlord and a tenant may include in a rental agreement terms and conditions not

prohibited by this chapter or other rule of law, including rent, term of the agreement, and other

provisions governing the rights and obligations of the parties.

     (b) In absence of agreement, the tenant shall pay as rent the fair rental value for the use and

occupancy of the dwelling unit.

     (c) Rent is payable without demand or notice at the time and place agreed upon by the

parties. Unless otherwise agreed, rent is payable at the dwelling unit and periodic rent is payable at

the beginning of any term of one month or less and otherwise in equal monthly installments at the

beginning of each month. Unless otherwise agreed, rent is uniformly apportionable from day-to-

day.

     (d) Unless the rental agreement fixes a definite term, the tenancy is week-to-week in case

of a roomer who pays weekly rent, and in all other cases month to month.

     (e) A tenant who is sixty-five (65) years of age or older or who will turn sixty-five (65)

during the term of a rental agreement for a dwelling unit may terminate such a rental agreement in

order to enter a residential care and assisted living facility, as defined in § 23-17.4-2, a nursing

facility, or a unit in a private or public housing complex designated by the federal government as

housing for the elderly. The tenant may terminate the rental agreement by notice given in writing

to the usual person to whom rental payments are made. The notice shall be accompanied by

documentation of admission or pending admission to a facility or housing complex described in

this section. Termination of the rental agreement shall be effective no earlier than forty-five (45)

days after the first rental payment due date following delivery of written notice of termination.

     (f)(1) A lease of premises occupied, or intended to be occupied, by a servicemember or a

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servicemember’s dependents may be unilaterally terminated if:

     (i) The lease is executed by or on behalf of a person who, thereafter, and during the term

of the lease, enters military service; or

     (ii) The servicemember, while in military service, executes the lease and thereafter receives

military orders for a change of permanent station or to deploy with a military unit, or as an

individual in support of a military operation, for a period of not less than ninety (90) days; and

     (iii) The lessee delivers to the lessor (or the lessor’s grantee), or to the lessor’s agent (or

the agent’s grantee), written notice of the termination, and a copy of the servicemember’s military

orders.

     (2) Effective date of lease termination. In the event that a lease provides for monthly

payment of rent, termination of the lease under this section is effective thirty (30) days after the

first date on which the next rental payment is due and payable after the date on which the notice is

delivered.

     (3) In the case of any other lease, termination of the lease is effective on the last day of the

month following the month in which the notice is delivered.

     (4) The lessee shall be responsible for rent amounts of the lease that are unpaid for the

period preceding the effective date of the lease termination on a prorated basis. The lessor may not

impose an early termination charge, but any taxes, summonses, or other obligations and liabilities

of the lessee in accordance with the terms of the lease, including reasonable charges to the lessee

for excess wear, that are due and unpaid at the time of termination of the lease, shall be paid by the

lessee.

     (5) Rent paid in advance. Rents or lease amounts paid in advance for a period after the

effective date of the termination of the lease shall be refunded to the lessee by the lessor (or the

lessor’s assignee or the assignee’s agent) within thirty (30) days of the effective date of the

termination of the lease.

     (6) A lessee’s termination of a lease pursuant to this section shall terminate any obligation

a dependent of the lessee may have under the lease.

     (g) Prior to the expiration of a lease, and upon written agreement between a landlord and

tenant to renew a lease, the default renewal period shall be year-to-year. The tenant shall retain the

exclusive option to waive this default year-to-year term in favor of a differing renewal term agreed

to by both the tenant and the landlord. Upon renewal of a lease, a landlord may not raise rent more

than four percent (4%) in a given year absent articulable evidence necessitating an increase of rent

at a rate greater than four percent (4%) in a given year.

     34-18-30. Self-help for limited repairs. [Effective January 1, 2024.]

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     (a) If the landlord fails to comply with § 34-18-22(a)(1), (2), (4), (5), or (6), and the

reasonable cost of compliance is less than five hundred dollars ($500) in the aggregate per year an

amount equal to one month's rent, the tenant may cause repairs to be done in a skilled manner, in

compliance with applicable state and local codes, and deduct from the tenant’s rent the actual and

reasonable cost or the fair and reasonable value of the repairs if:

     (1) The tenant notifies the landlord of the tenant’s intention to correct the condition at the

landlord’s expense; and

     (2) The landlord fails to comply within twenty (20) days, or fails to demonstrate ongoing,

good faith efforts to comply, after being notified by the tenant in writing; or, in the case of

emergency, the landlord either cannot be reached by the tenant, or the landlord fails to comply as

promptly as conditions require; and

     (3) The tenant submits an itemized statement to the landlord of the cost or the fair and

reasonable value of the repairs made.

     (b) A tenant may not repair at the landlord’s expense if the condition was caused by the

deliberate or negligent act or omission of the tenant, a member of the tenant’s family, or other

person on the premises with the tenant’s consent.

     SECTION 3. Section 45-24.3-6 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-24.3 entitled "Housing

Maintenance and Occupancy Code" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     45-24.3-6. Responsibilities of owners and occupants.

     (a) No owner or operator or other person shall occupy, or let to another person, any vacant

dwelling, dwelling unit, or structure unless it and the premises are clean, sanitary, fit for human

occupancy, and comply with this chapter and all applicable legal requirements of the state and the

corporate unit.

     (b) Every owner of a multiple dwelling is responsible for maintaining, in a clean and

sanitary condition, the shared or public areas of the dwelling and premises. Occupants of two (2)

and three (3) family dwellings shall share the maintenance of clean and sanitary conditions within

the shared or public areas of the dwelling and premises.

     (c) Every occupant of a dwelling, dwelling unit, or structure shall maintain in a clean

sanitary condition that part or those parts of the dwelling, dwelling unit, or structure and premises

that the occupant occupies and controls.

     (d) Every occupant of a dwelling, dwelling unit, or structure shall dispose of all his or her

rubbish in a clean, sanitary, and safe manner.

     (e) Every occupant of a dwelling, dwelling unit, or structure shall dispose of all his or her

garbage and any other organic waste which might provide food for insects and/or rodents in a clean,

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sanitary, and safe manner, and if a container is used for storage pending collection it shall be rodent

proof, insect proof, and watertight.

     (f) Every owner or operator of a dwelling containing four (4) or more dwelling units shall

supply facilities or containers for the sanitary and safe storage and/or disposal of rubbish and

garbage. In the case of single, two (2) or three (3) family dwellings and structures it is the

responsibility of the occupant to furnish those facilities or refuse containers.

     (g) The owner of a dwelling, dwelling unit, or structure is responsible for providing and

hanging all screens and double or storm doors and windows where used for ventilation whenever

they are required under the provisions of this chapter or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant to

this chapter, except where there is a written agreement between the owner and occupant. In the

absence of an agreement, maintenance or replacement of screens, and storm doors and windows,

once installed in any one season, become the responsibility of the occupant.

     (h) The owner of a dwelling or dwelling unit is responsible for the providing and hanging

of shades or other devices on every window of every room used for sleeping and for every room

equipped with a flush water closet or bathtub, affording privacy to persons within those rooms.

Once installed in any one rental by the owner, replacements become the responsibility of the

occupant.

     (i) Every occupant of a dwelling containing a single dwelling unit and every occupant of a

structure is responsible for the extermination of any insects, rodents, or other pests therein or on

the premises. Every occupant of a dwelling unit, in a dwelling containing more than one dwelling

unit, is responsible for this extermination whenever his or her dwelling is the only one infected.

Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this subsection, whenever infestation is caused by a

failure of the owner to maintain a dwelling in a rodent-proof or reasonably insect-proof condition,

extermination is the responsibility of the owner. Whenever infestation exists in two (2) or more of

the dwelling units in any dwelling, or in the shared or public parts of any dwelling containing two

(2) or more dwelling units, extermination is the responsibility of the owner.

     (j) Every occupant of a dwelling unit or structure shall keep all supplied plumbing fixtures

and facilities in a clean and sanitary condition, and is responsible for the exercise of reasonable

care in their proper use and operation.

     (k) No owner or occupant of a dwelling, dwelling unit, or structure shall accumulate or

permit the accumulation of rubbish, boxes, lumber, scrap metal, or any other materials in a manner

that may provide a rodent harborage in or about any dwelling, dwelling unit, or structure. Stored

materials shall be stacked neatly in piles elevated at least eighteen inches (18") above the ground

or floor. The provisions of this subsection do not apply to firewood or kindling wood stored in or

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about any dwelling, dwelling unit, or structure by the owner or occupant of that property; provided,

that the wood is stored for use within the dwelling, dwelling unit or structure, unless prohibited by

town or city ordinance.

     (l) Every owner of a multiple dwelling is responsible for the mitigation of insect infestation

including, but not limited to, bed bugs, ants, cockroaches, termites, fleas and flies. The owner shall

be required to obtain an inspection of the infestation not more than ninety-six (96) hours after

receiving notice from the occupant. The owner shall be required to communicate to the occupant

the results of the inspection within two (2) business days of the inspection. The owner shall be

required to commence mitigation efforts within five (5) business days of receiving notice from an

inspector of the presence of an infestation.

     SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO PROPERTY -- RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT

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     This act would create a tenant bill of rights to include the right to counsel for indigent

tenants with children, the right to habitability, the right to organize free from harassment, the right

to not be discriminated against based on race, religion, sexual orientation, source of income,

criminal record or credit score, the right of first refusal if the landlord decides to sell the property,

and a limitation on rent increases to four percent (4%) per year unless the landlord can articulate

necessity for a greater increase. This act would further provide a tenant with the right to deduct up

to the sum of one month’s rent for repairs.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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