2023 -- H 5514
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LC000225
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S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023
____________
A N A C T
RELATING TO PROPERTY -- RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT
Introduced By: Representatives Fellela, Hull, Perez, and Serpa
Date Introduced: February 10, 2023
Referred To: House Judiciary
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
1
SECTION 1. Section 34-18-56 of the General Laws in Chapter 34-18 entitled "Residential 2
Landlord and Tenant Act" is hereby amended to read as follows: 3
34-18-56. Notices and complaint forms. 4
(a) A notice in substantially the following language shall suffice for the purpose of giving 5
a tenant a five (5) day demand for payment of rent prior to commencement of an eviction pursuant 6
to § 34-18-35: 7
FIVE-DAY DEMAND NOTICE FOR NONPAYMENT OF RENT 8
R.I.G.L. 34-18-35 9
Date of Mailing: _____________________ 10
TO: __________________________ 11
(tenant) 12
_____________________________ 13
_____________________________ 14
You are now more than fifteen days in arrears for some or all of the rent owed under your 15
rental agreement. State law requires that you be sent this Notice of arrearage. 16
Unless you make payment of all rent in arrears within five days of the date this notice was 17
mailed to you, an eviction action may be instituted in court against you. You can prevent the 18
eviction by paying all rent owing within five days of the mailing of this notice. 19
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If you believe you have a legal reason for not paying this rent, you will be able to present 1
that defense at the eviction hearing. The rent in arrears as of the above date is $_____________. 2
__________________________ 3
(signature) 4
__________________________ 5
__________________________ 6
(name and address of land-7
lord/owner) 8
I certify that I placed in regular U.S. mail, first class postage prepaid, a copy of this Notice, 9
addressed to the tenant, on the ________ day of ________________________, 20______. 10
__________________________ 11
(landlord or owner 12
signature) 13
(b) A notice in substantially the following language shall suffice for the purpose of giving 14
a tenant a notice of noncompliance with the rental agreement pursuant to § 34-18-36: 15
NOTICE OF NONCOMPLIANCE 16
R.I.G.L. 34-18-36 17
Date of Mailing: ____________________ 18
TO: __________________________ 19
(tenant) 20
_____________________________ 21
_____________________________ 22
(address) 23
You are in breach of your rental agreement, or of your legal duties under R.I.G.L. 34-18-24
24, because you: 25
__________________________________________________________________ 26
__________________________________________________________________ 27
__________________________________________________________________ 28
(provide details) 29
To remedy this situation you must do the following within twenty days of the date of 30
mailing of this Notice: 31
__________________________________________________________________ 32
__________________________________________________________________ 33
__________________________________________________________________ 34
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If you do not remedy this situation within twenty days, your rental agreement will terminate 1
without further notice on __________ (date, which must be not less than twenty-one days from the 2
date of mailing of this Notice). (NOTE: Under the law you lose this right to remedy your 3
noncompliance if this is the second notice on the same subject within the past six months.) After 4
that date an eviction case may begin in court, and you may be served with a complaint. You will 5
have the right to a hearing and to present any defenses you believe you have. 6
__________________________________ 7
(signature) 8
__________________________________ 9
__________________________________ 10
(name and address of land-lord/owner) 11
I certify that I placed in regular U.S. mail, first class postage prepaid, a copy of this Notice, 12
addressed to the tenant, on the ________ day of ________________________, 20______. 13
__________________________________ 14
(landlord or owner signature) 15
(c) A notice in substantially the following language shall suffice for the purpose of giving 16
a tenant notice of termination of tenancy pursuant to § 34-18-37: 17
NOTICE OF TERMINATION OF TENANCY 18
R.I.G.L. 34-18-37 19
Date of Mailing: _______________________ 20
TO: _________________________ 21
(tenant) 22
_____________________________ 23
_____________________________ 24
(address) 25
You are hereby directed to vacate and remove your property and personal possessions from 26
the premises located at __________________________________ and deliver control of the 27
premises to the 28
(address of premises) 29
landlord/owner on the first day after the end of your current rental period, namely 30
____________________. 31
(insert date) 32
This notice is given for the purpose of terminating your tenancy. You must continue to pay 33
rent as it becomes due until the date indicated above. If you fail to pay that rent, a nonpayment 34
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eviction action may be instituted against you. 1
If you fail to vacate the premises by the date specified, an eviction may be instituted against 2
you without further notice. If you believe you have a defense to this termination, you will be able 3
to raise that defense at the court hearing. 4
__________________________________ 5
(signature) 6
__________________________________ 7
__________________________________ 8
(name and address of land-lord/owner) 9
I certify that I placed in regular U.S. mail, first class postage prepaid, a copy of this Notice, 10
addressed to the tenant, on the ________ day of ________________________, 20______. 11
__________________________________ 12
(landlord or owner signature) 13
(d) A complaint in substantially the following language shall suffice for the purpose of 14
commencing an eviction action for nonpayment of rent pursuant to § 34-18-35: 15
State of Rhode Island 16
_______________________, Sc. DISTRICT 17
COURT 18
____________________________ _____________ 19
DIVISION 20
PLAINTIFF DEFENDANT 21
____________________________ 22
__________________________23
________ 24
(Landlord's Name) (Tenant's Name) 25
V 26
_________________________________ __________________________ 27
__________________________________ __________________________ 28
__________________________________ __________________________ 29
(address) (address of rental premises) 30
COMPLAINT FOR EVICTION 31
FOR NONPAYMENT OF RENT 32
R.I.G.L. 34-18-35 33
1. Plaintiff is the owner/landlord of the rental premises listed above, in which the Defendant 34
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Tenant currently resides. 1
2. Defendant is more than fifteen days in arrears in rental payments due to the plaintiff from 2
the defendant. The rent is $__________ per __________, and the amount in arrears is $________ 3
as of the __________ day of __________, 20____. 4
(month) 5
3. Plaintiff has served the five-day demand notice as required by law, and a copy of that 6
notice is attached to this complaint. The notice was mailed to the defendant on the __________ day 7
of ________, 20____. 8
4. Defendant has not paid the rent in arrears or offered the full amount in arrears, either 9
before or after the demand notice. Defendant remains in possession of the rental premises. 10
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff requests that this Court grant a judgment for possession of the 11
premises (eviction of the tenant) and for back rent in the amount of $______________, plus costs. 12
__________________________________ 13
(Name & address of landlord/owner or attorney for landlord) 14
__________________________________ 15
Date complaint filed with clerk __________________ 16
(e) A complaint in substantially the following language shall suffice for the purpose of 17
commencing an eviction action for noncompliance with the rental agreement pursuant to § 34-18-18
36, or an eviction action for unlawfully holding over after expiration or termination of the tenancy 19
pursuant to § 34-18-38: 20
STATE OF RHODE ISLAND 21
_______________________, Sc. DISTRICT 22
COURT 23
____________________________ _____________ 24
DIVISION 25
PLAINTIFF DEFENDANT 26
____________________________ __________________________________ 27
(Landlord's Name) (Tenant's Name) 28
V 29
__________________________________ __________________________________ 30
__________________________________ __________________________________ 31
(address) (address of rental 32
premises) 33
COMPLAINT FOR EVICTION 34
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FOR REASON OTHER THAN 1
NONPAYMENT OF RENT 2
R.I.G.L. 34-18-36 3
R.I.G.L. 34-18-38 4
1. Plaintiff Landlord(s) owns the rental premises listed above, in which the Defendant 5
Tenant(s) resides. 6
2. CHECK ONE: 7
____ Defendant breached the tenant's obligations under the rental agreement or § 34-18-8
24 as set forth in the attached copy of the notice of noncompliance which was mailed to the 9
defendant. Defendant has not cured or remedied the breach. (Plaintiff must attach copy of required 10
notice of noncompliance.) 11
____ Defendant has remained in possession of the rented premises following the period set 12
forth in the attached notice of termination of tenancy which was mailed to defendant. (Plaintiff 13
must attach copy of required termination notice.) 14
____ Defendant breached the tenants' obligations under § 34-18-24(8), (9) or (10). 15
3. Plaintiff seeks judgment for possession of the premises plus judgment in the amount of 16
__________________________________________________________________ 17
for _______________________________________________________________ 18
__________________________________________________________________ 19
__________________________________________________________________ 20
__________________________________________________________________ 21
(explain basis for money claim) 22
Plaintiff seeks costs and fees (if applicable). 23
__________________________________ 24
(Signature of Landlord/Owner or Attorney) 25
__________________________________ 26
Date complaint filed with clerk __________ 27
(f) A complaint in substantially the following language, or in similar language, shall be 28
sufficient for use by landlords or by tenants to bring any claims or causes of action other than 29
eviction actions: 30
NOT FOR EVICTION 31
State of Rhode Island 32
_______________________, Sc. DISTRICT 33
COURT 34
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____________________________ _____________ 1
DIVISION 2
PLAINTIFF DEFENDANT 3
____________________________ __________________________________ 4
(Name) (Name) 5
V 6
__________________________________ __________________________ 7
__________________________________ __________________________ 8
__________________________________ __________________________ 9
(address) (address of rental 10
premises) 11
LANDLORD-TENANT COMPLAINT 12
(NOT FOR USE IN EVICTIONS) 13
1. Plaintiff is the ____ Tenant ____ Landlord/Owner of the rental premises 14
at. ________________________________________________________________ 15
(address of rental premises) 16
2. Defendant is the ____ Tenant ____ Landlord/Owner. 17
3. Plaintiff claims that defendant has breached the obligations of the rental agreement or 18
law in relation to this landlord-tenant relationship, as follows: 19
__________________________________________________________________ 20
__________________________________________________________________ 21
__________________________________________________________________ 22
(brief description of claim, attach extra sheet, if necessary) 23
4. Plaintiff seeks the following judgment or relief from the Court: 24
__________________________________________________________________ 25
__________________________________________________________________ 26
__________________________________________________________________ 27
Date Complaint Filed__________________________________ 28
With Clerk: __________ 29
(Signature of plaintiff or plaintiff's attorney) 30
__________________________________ 31
(address) 32
(g) The summons in an action for eviction for nonpayment of rent pursuant to § 34-18-35 33
shall be in substantially the following form: 34
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND 1
DISTRICT COURT2
SU3
MMONS 4
EVICTION-NONPAYMENT OF RENT 5
DIVISION COUNTY CIVIL ACTION-FILE NO. 6
Address of Court: 7
__________________________________ __________________________________ 8
__________________________________ __________________________________ 9
__________________________________ __________________________________ 10
(name & address of plaintiff landlord) (name & address of defendant-tenant) 11
TO THE TENANT: You are served with an eviction complaint for nonpayment of rent. If 12
you do nothing, you will lose by default and be evicted. If you claim any defense, you must 13
complete the enclosed ANSWER and file it with the Court Clerk at or before the hearing date. You 14
should also mail a copy to the landlord or the landlord's lawyer. Your hearing will be at 9:30 9:00 15
A.M. on the hearing date, at the court address listed above. You should go to the hearing or you 16
may lose by default. If you think the case is "settled," you should still go to the hearing to make 17
sure the settlement is in the court record. 18
YOUR HEARING DATE IS: ________________________________. 19
(Proof of Service on next page) 20
________________________________________ 21
PROOF OF SERVICE 22
I hereby certify that I served a copy of the Complaint and Summons & Answer upon the 23
defendant(s) by delivering or leaving said papers in the following manner: 24
______ to the defendant personally; or 25
______ at his or her dwelling unit or usual place of abode 26
at the 27
address listed below with a person of suitable age 28
then 29
residing therein; or 30
______ if none be found, by posting conspicuously on the 31
door 32
to the defendant's dwelling unit. 33
ADDRESS OF DWELLING OR USUAL PLACE OF ABODE: 34
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______________________________________________________ 1
NAME OF PERSON OF SUITABLE AGE: 2
SERVICE DATE: 3
4
DEPUTY SHERIFF/CONSTABLE: 5
__________________________________________________________________ 6
__________________________________________________________________ 7
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 8
I hereby certify that a copy of this Complaint and Summons was placed into regular U.S. 9
Mail, postage prepaid, on the __________________ day of ________________, 20____, addressed 10
to defendant at the following address: 11
________________________________________________. 12
__________________________________ 13
(Signature of ____________ Clerk) 14
(h) The summons in an action for eviction for noncompliance with the rental agreement 15
pursuant to § 34-18-36, or for unlawfully holding over after termination or expiration of tenancy 16
pursuant to § 34-18-38, shall be in substantially the following form: 17
State of Rhode Island 18
District Court19
Summons 20
EVICTION FOR REASON OTHER THAN NONPAYMENT OF RENT 21
DIVISION COUNTY CIVIL ACTION-22
FILE NO. 23
Address of Court: 24
__________________________________ __________________________ 25
V 26
__________________________________ __________________________ 27
__________________________________ __________________________ 28
(name & address of plaintiff landlord) (name & address of defendant-tenant) 29
TO THE TENANT: You are served with an eviction complaint for noncompliance with 30
rental agreement (R.I.G.L. 34-18-36), or for unlawfully holding over after termination or expiration 31
of tenancy (R.I.G.L. 34-18-38). If you do nothing, you will lose by default and be evicted. If you 32
claim any defense, you must complete the enclosed ANSWER and file it with the Court Clerk 33
within TWENTY (20) days after you are served with this summons and complaint. You should also 34
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mail a copy of the ANSWER to the landlord or the landlord's lawyer. If you file the enclosed 1
ANSWER, then you will receive another written notice telling you when the hearing will be. If you 2
have any questions, you may consult a lawyer. If you think the case is "settled" you should still file 3
the enclosed ANSWER or be sure that the written settlement is in the file at the Clerk's office. 4
(Proof of Service on next page) 5
________________________________________ 6
PROOF OF SERVICE 7
I hereby certify that I served a copy of the Complaint, Summons, and Answer form upon 8
the defendant(s) by delivering or leaving said papers in the following manner: 9
____ to the defendant personally 10
____ at his/her dwelling unit or usual place of abode at the address listed below, with a 11
person of suitable age then residing therein 12
____ to an agent named below authorized by appointment or by law to receive service of 13
process 14
____ further notice as required by law was given as noted below 15
Address of dwelling or usual place of abode: 16
__________________________________________________________________ 17
Name of person of suitable age or of agent: 18
__________________________________________________________________ 19
If none be found, by posting conspicuously on the door to the defendant's dwelling unit or 20
usual place of abode. 21
Service Date: ____________________ 22
Deputy Sheriff/Constable (circle one): 23
__________________________24
________ 25
(signature) 26
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 27
I hereby certify that, on the …. day of …., 20…., I mailed a copy of this Summons, and 28
Complaint for Eviction for Reason Other than Nonpayment of Rent, blank Answer forms, and 29
Language Assistance Notice addressed to the Defendant/Tenant, at the address listed above. 30
Affiant__________________________ 31
(i) The summons in an action relating to any claims by tenants, or by landlords other than 32
for eviction, shall be in substantially the following form: 33
State of Rhode Island 34
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District Court Summons____________ 1
____________ _______________ ______________ 2
DIVISION COUNTY CIVIL ACTION-FILE NO. 3
_____________________________ _____________________________ 4
PLAINTIFF PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY 5
__________________________________ 6
ADDRESS 7
_________________ vs 8
DEFENDANT 9
__________________________ 10
DEFENDANT'S ADDRESS 11
______________________________ __________________________________ 12
TO THE ABOVE-NAMED DEFENDANT: 13
You are hereby summoned and required to serve upon the plaintiff's attorney, whose name 14
and address appears above, an answer to the complaint which is herewith served upon you. Your 15
answer must be made within 20 days after service of this summons, excluding the date of service. 16
The original must be filed in writing with this court. If you fail to do so, judgment by default will 17
be taken against you for the relief demanded in the complaint. 18
_____________________________ ____________________________ 19
DATE CLERK 20
______________________________ __________________________________ 21
SEAL OF THE DISTRICT COURT DATE 22
RECEIVED 23
__________________________________________________________________ 24
PROOF OF SERVICE 25
I hereby certify that on the date below I served a copy of this summons and a copy of the 26
complaint received herewith upon the above-named defendant by delivering or leaving said papers 27
in the following manner: 28
□ to the defendant personally. 29
□ at his dwelling house or usual place of abode at the address entered 30
below, with a person of suitable age and discretion then residing therewith. 31
□ to an agent named below authorized by appointment or by law to receive 32
service of process. 33
□ Further notice as required by statute was given as noted on the reverse 34
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side. 1
__________________________________________________________________ 2
Address of Dwelling or Usual Place of Abode 3
__________________________________________________________________ 4
Name of Authorized Agent or Person of Suitable Age 5
______________________________ __________________________________ 6
Date Deputy Sheriff/Constable 7
______________________________ __________________________________ 8
SERVICE FEE $________ 9
(j) The blank answer served in eviction actions shall be in substantially the following form: 10
State of Rhode Island 11
_______________________, Sc. DISTRICT COURT 12
____________________________ _____________ DIVISION 13
PLAINTIFF DEFENDANT 14
____________________________ __________________________________ 15
(Landlord's Name) (Tenant's Name) 16
V 17
__________________________________ _________________________________ 18
__________________________________ ________________________________ 19
(address) (address of rental 20
premises) 21
INSTRUCTIONS TO THE DEFENDANT 22
Listed below are several possible defenses to the eviction action your landlord has filed 23
against you. If one or more of these defenses apply to your case, check the appropriate box(es). If 24
space is provided, write in facts in support of that defense. Use additional paper if necessary. Some 25
of these defenses are technical, and there may be others not listed here. You may consult a lawyer 26
and seek representation before filling out this Answer. 27
TENANT'S ANSWER 28
The complaint against me is untrue or fails to state the following facts: 29
I offered rent, but my landlord refused it. I am still able and willing to pay the rent. 30
I have a defense for nonpayment because the landlord has failed to maintain the premises 31
in a fit and habitable condition. 32
My rent has not been paid, but I have a legally justifiable defense for not paying: 33
I have a written lease which does not expire until: 34
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I have not received the required notice from the landlord before this complaint was served 1
on me. 2
The landlord is trying to evict me because I have exercised my legal rights by calling code 3
enforcement officials, or by taking the following protected action: 4
I have other defenses as follow: 5
WHEREFORE: Because of the defense(s) indicated above, I ask the court to grant a 6
judgment in my favor and not order me to be evicted. 7
COUNTERCLAIM 8
Instructions: If you believe you are entitled to be awarded damages or money for any reason 9
from your landlord, you may fill out the statement below: 10
I hereby sue my landlord for the amount of $_____________. 11
I believe I am entitled to receive an award of this amount because 12
__________________________________________________________________ 13
__________________________________14
__________________________15
________ 16
Name of Defendant (or attorney) Signature of Defendant 17
___________________________________ 18
Address 19
___________________________________ 20
Telephone number 21
___________________________________ 22
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2024. 23
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO PROPERTY -- RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT
***
This act would modify the summons for eviction for reasons other than nonpayment of rent 1
with the district court, to add a certificate of service section, and provide the option to post the 2
summons and complaint conspicuously on the door of the defendant/tenant's dwelling. 3
This act would take effect on January 1, 2024. 4
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