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Rhode Island House Bill H5514

Rhode Island 2023 Regular Session

Rhode Island House Bill H5514 Compare Versions

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55 2023 -- H 5514
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77 LC000225
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99 S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND
1010 IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
1111 JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023
1212 ____________
1313
1414 A N A C T
1515 RELATING TO PROPERTY -- RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT
1616 Introduced By: Representatives Fellela, Hull, Perez, and Serpa
1717 Date Introduced: February 10, 2023
1818 Referred To: House Judiciary
1919
2020
2121 It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
2222 1
2323 SECTION 1. Section 34-18-56 of the General Laws in Chapter 34-18 entitled "Residential 2
2424 Landlord and Tenant Act" is hereby amended to read as follows: 3
2525 34-18-56. Notices and complaint forms. 4
2626 (a) A notice in substantially the following language shall suffice for the purpose of giving 5
2727 a tenant a five (5) day demand for payment of rent prior to commencement of an eviction pursuant 6
2828 to § 34-18-35: 7
2929 FIVE-DAY DEMAND NOTICE FOR NONPAYMENT OF RENT 8
3030 R.I.G.L. 34-18-35 9
3131 Date of Mailing: _____________________ 10
3232 TO: __________________________ 11
3333 (tenant) 12
3434 _____________________________ 13
3535 _____________________________ 14
3636 You are now more than fifteen days in arrears for some or all of the rent owed under your 15
3737 rental agreement. State law requires that you be sent this Notice of arrearage. 16
3838 Unless you make payment of all rent in arrears within five days of the date this notice was 17
3939 mailed to you, an eviction action may be instituted in court against you. You can prevent the 18
4040 eviction by paying all rent owing within five days of the mailing of this notice. 19
4141
4242
4343 LC000225 - Page 2 of 14
4444 If you believe you have a legal reason for not paying this rent, you will be able to present 1
4545 that defense at the eviction hearing. The rent in arrears as of the above date is $_____________. 2
4646 __________________________ 3
4747 (signature) 4
4848 __________________________ 5
4949 __________________________ 6
5050 (name and address of land-7
5151 lord/owner) 8
5252 I certify that I placed in regular U.S. mail, first class postage prepaid, a copy of this Notice, 9
5353 addressed to the tenant, on the ________ day of ________________________, 20______. 10
5454 __________________________ 11
5555 (landlord or owner 12
5656 signature) 13
5757 (b) A notice in substantially the following language shall suffice for the purpose of giving 14
5858 a tenant a notice of noncompliance with the rental agreement pursuant to § 34-18-36: 15
5959 NOTICE OF NONCOMPLIANCE 16
6060 R.I.G.L. 34-18-36 17
6161 Date of Mailing: ____________________ 18
6262 TO: __________________________ 19
6363 (tenant) 20
6464 _____________________________ 21
6565 _____________________________ 22
6666 (address) 23
6767 You are in breach of your rental agreement, or of your legal duties under R.I.G.L. 34-18-24
6868 24, because you: 25
6969 __________________________________________________________________ 26
7070 __________________________________________________________________ 27
7171 __________________________________________________________________ 28
7272 (provide details) 29
7373 To remedy this situation you must do the following within twenty days of the date of 30
7474 mailing of this Notice: 31
7575 __________________________________________________________________ 32
7676 __________________________________________________________________ 33
7777 __________________________________________________________________ 34
7878
7979
8080 LC000225 - Page 3 of 14
8181 If you do not remedy this situation within twenty days, your rental agreement will terminate 1
8282 without further notice on __________ (date, which must be not less than twenty-one days from the 2
8383 date of mailing of this Notice). (NOTE: Under the law you lose this right to remedy your 3
8484 noncompliance if this is the second notice on the same subject within the past six months.) After 4
8585 that date an eviction case may begin in court, and you may be served with a complaint. You will 5
8686 have the right to a hearing and to present any defenses you believe you have. 6
8787 __________________________________ 7
8888 (signature) 8
8989 __________________________________ 9
9090 __________________________________ 10
9191 (name and address of land-lord/owner) 11
9292 I certify that I placed in regular U.S. mail, first class postage prepaid, a copy of this Notice, 12
9393 addressed to the tenant, on the ________ day of ________________________, 20______. 13
9494 __________________________________ 14
9595 (landlord or owner signature) 15
9696 (c) A notice in substantially the following language shall suffice for the purpose of giving 16
9797 a tenant notice of termination of tenancy pursuant to § 34-18-37: 17
9898 NOTICE OF TERMINATION OF TENANCY 18
9999 R.I.G.L. 34-18-37 19
100100 Date of Mailing: _______________________ 20
101101 TO: _________________________ 21
102102 (tenant) 22
103103 _____________________________ 23
104104 _____________________________ 24
105105 (address) 25
106106 You are hereby directed to vacate and remove your property and personal possessions from 26
107107 the premises located at __________________________________ and deliver control of the 27
108108 premises to the 28
109109 (address of premises) 29
110110 landlord/owner on the first day after the end of your current rental period, namely 30
111111 ____________________. 31
112112 (insert date) 32
113113 This notice is given for the purpose of terminating your tenancy. You must continue to pay 33
114114 rent as it becomes due until the date indicated above. If you fail to pay that rent, a nonpayment 34
115115
116116
117117 LC000225 - Page 4 of 14
118118 eviction action may be instituted against you. 1
119119 If you fail to vacate the premises by the date specified, an eviction may be instituted against 2
120120 you without further notice. If you believe you have a defense to this termination, you will be able 3
121121 to raise that defense at the court hearing. 4
122122 __________________________________ 5
123123 (signature) 6
124124 __________________________________ 7
125125 __________________________________ 8
126126 (name and address of land-lord/owner) 9
127127 I certify that I placed in regular U.S. mail, first class postage prepaid, a copy of this Notice, 10
128128 addressed to the tenant, on the ________ day of ________________________, 20______. 11
129129 __________________________________ 12
130130 (landlord or owner signature) 13
131131 (d) A complaint in substantially the following language shall suffice for the purpose of 14
132132 commencing an eviction action for nonpayment of rent pursuant to § 34-18-35: 15
133133 State of Rhode Island 16
134134 _______________________, Sc. DISTRICT 17
135135 COURT 18
136136 ____________________________ _____________ 19
137137 DIVISION 20
138138 PLAINTIFF DEFENDANT 21
139139 ____________________________ 22
140140 __________________________23
141141 ________ 24
142142 (Landlord's Name) (Tenant's Name) 25
143143 V 26
144144 _________________________________ __________________________ 27
145145 __________________________________ __________________________ 28
146146 __________________________________ __________________________ 29
147147 (address) (address of rental premises) 30
148148 COMPLAINT FOR EVICTION 31
149149 FOR NONPAYMENT OF RENT 32
150150 R.I.G.L. 34-18-35 33
151151 1. Plaintiff is the owner/landlord of the rental premises listed above, in which the Defendant 34
152152
153153
154154 LC000225 - Page 5 of 14
155155 Tenant currently resides. 1
156156 2. Defendant is more than fifteen days in arrears in rental payments due to the plaintiff from 2
157157 the defendant. The rent is $__________ per __________, and the amount in arrears is $________ 3
158158 as of the __________ day of __________, 20____. 4
159159 (month) 5
160160 3. Plaintiff has served the five-day demand notice as required by law, and a copy of that 6
161161 notice is attached to this complaint. The notice was mailed to the defendant on the __________ day 7
162162 of ________, 20____. 8
163163 4. Defendant has not paid the rent in arrears or offered the full amount in arrears, either 9
164164 before or after the demand notice. Defendant remains in possession of the rental premises. 10
165165 WHEREFORE, Plaintiff requests that this Court grant a judgment for possession of the 11
166166 premises (eviction of the tenant) and for back rent in the amount of $______________, plus costs. 12
167167 __________________________________ 13
168168 (Name & address of landlord/owner or attorney for landlord) 14
169169 __________________________________ 15
170170 Date complaint filed with clerk __________________ 16
171171 (e) A complaint in substantially the following language shall suffice for the purpose of 17
172172 commencing an eviction action for noncompliance with the rental agreement pursuant to § 34-18-18
173173 36, or an eviction action for unlawfully holding over after expiration or termination of the tenancy 19
174174 pursuant to § 34-18-38: 20
175175 STATE OF RHODE ISLAND 21
176176 _______________________, Sc. DISTRICT 22
177177 COURT 23
178178 ____________________________ _____________ 24
179179 DIVISION 25
180180 PLAINTIFF DEFENDANT 26
181181 ____________________________ __________________________________ 27
182182 (Landlord's Name) (Tenant's Name) 28
183183 V 29
184184 __________________________________ __________________________________ 30
185185 __________________________________ __________________________________ 31
186186 (address) (address of rental 32
187187 premises) 33
188188 COMPLAINT FOR EVICTION 34
189189
190190
191191 LC000225 - Page 6 of 14
192192 FOR REASON OTHER THAN 1
193193 NONPAYMENT OF RENT 2
194194 R.I.G.L. 34-18-36 3
195195 R.I.G.L. 34-18-38 4
196196 1. Plaintiff Landlord(s) owns the rental premises listed above, in which the Defendant 5
197197 Tenant(s) resides. 6
198198 2. CHECK ONE: 7
199199 ____ Defendant breached the tenant's obligations under the rental agreement or § 34-18-8
200200 24 as set forth in the attached copy of the notice of noncompliance which was mailed to the 9
201201 defendant. Defendant has not cured or remedied the breach. (Plaintiff must attach copy of required 10
202202 notice of noncompliance.) 11
203203 ____ Defendant has remained in possession of the rented premises following the period set 12
204204 forth in the attached notice of termination of tenancy which was mailed to defendant. (Plaintiff 13
205205 must attach copy of required termination notice.) 14
206206 ____ Defendant breached the tenants' obligations under § 34-18-24(8), (9) or (10). 15
207207 3. Plaintiff seeks judgment for possession of the premises plus judgment in the amount of 16
208208 __________________________________________________________________ 17
209209 for _______________________________________________________________ 18
210210 __________________________________________________________________ 19
211211 __________________________________________________________________ 20
212212 __________________________________________________________________ 21
213213 (explain basis for money claim) 22
214214 Plaintiff seeks costs and fees (if applicable). 23
215215 __________________________________ 24
216216 (Signature of Landlord/Owner or Attorney) 25
217217 __________________________________ 26
218218 Date complaint filed with clerk __________ 27
219219 (f) A complaint in substantially the following language, or in similar language, shall be 28
220220 sufficient for use by landlords or by tenants to bring any claims or causes of action other than 29
221221 eviction actions: 30
222222 NOT FOR EVICTION 31
223223 State of Rhode Island 32
224224 _______________________, Sc. DISTRICT 33
225225 COURT 34
226226
227227
228228 LC000225 - Page 7 of 14
229229 ____________________________ _____________ 1
230230 DIVISION 2
231231 PLAINTIFF DEFENDANT 3
232232 ____________________________ __________________________________ 4
233233 (Name) (Name) 5
234234 V 6
235235 __________________________________ __________________________ 7
236236 __________________________________ __________________________ 8
237237 __________________________________ __________________________ 9
238238 (address) (address of rental 10
239239 premises) 11
240240 LANDLORD-TENANT COMPLAINT 12
241241 (NOT FOR USE IN EVICTIONS) 13
242242 1. Plaintiff is the ____ Tenant ____ Landlord/Owner of the rental premises 14
243243 at. ________________________________________________________________ 15
244244 (address of rental premises) 16
245245 2. Defendant is the ____ Tenant ____ Landlord/Owner. 17
246246 3. Plaintiff claims that defendant has breached the obligations of the rental agreement or 18
247247 law in relation to this landlord-tenant relationship, as follows: 19
248248 __________________________________________________________________ 20
249249 __________________________________________________________________ 21
250250 __________________________________________________________________ 22
251251 (brief description of claim, attach extra sheet, if necessary) 23
252252 4. Plaintiff seeks the following judgment or relief from the Court: 24
253253 __________________________________________________________________ 25
254254 __________________________________________________________________ 26
255255 __________________________________________________________________ 27
256256 Date Complaint Filed__________________________________ 28
257257 With Clerk: __________ 29
258258 (Signature of plaintiff or plaintiff's attorney) 30
259259 __________________________________ 31
260260 (address) 32
261261 (g) The summons in an action for eviction for nonpayment of rent pursuant to § 34-18-35 33
262262 shall be in substantially the following form: 34
263263
264264
265265 LC000225 - Page 8 of 14
266266 STATE OF RHODE ISLAND 1
267267 DISTRICT COURT2
268268 SU3
269269 MMONS 4
270270 EVICTION-NONPAYMENT OF RENT 5
271271 DIVISION COUNTY CIVIL ACTION-FILE NO. 6
272272 Address of Court: 7
273273 __________________________________ __________________________________ 8
274274 __________________________________ __________________________________ 9
275275 __________________________________ __________________________________ 10
276276 (name & address of plaintiff landlord) (name & address of defendant-tenant) 11
277277 TO THE TENANT: You are served with an eviction complaint for nonpayment of rent. If 12
278278 you do nothing, you will lose by default and be evicted. If you claim any defense, you must 13
279279 complete the enclosed ANSWER and file it with the Court Clerk at or before the hearing date. You 14
280280 should also mail a copy to the landlord or the landlord's lawyer. Your hearing will be at 9:30 9:00 15
281281 A.M. on the hearing date, at the court address listed above. You should go to the hearing or you 16
282282 may lose by default. If you think the case is "settled," you should still go to the hearing to make 17
283283 sure the settlement is in the court record. 18
284284 YOUR HEARING DATE IS: ________________________________. 19
285285 (Proof of Service on next page) 20
286286 ________________________________________ 21
287287 PROOF OF SERVICE 22
288288 I hereby certify that I served a copy of the Complaint and Summons & Answer upon the 23
289289 defendant(s) by delivering or leaving said papers in the following manner: 24
290290 ______ to the defendant personally; or 25
291291 ______ at his or her dwelling unit or usual place of abode 26
292292 at the 27
293293 address listed below with a person of suitable age 28
294294 then 29
295295 residing therein; or 30
296296 ______ if none be found, by posting conspicuously on the 31
297297 door 32
298298 to the defendant's dwelling unit. 33
299299 ADDRESS OF DWELLING OR USUAL PLACE OF ABODE: 34
300300
301301
302302 LC000225 - Page 9 of 14
303303 ______________________________________________________ 1
304304 NAME OF PERSON OF SUITABLE AGE: 2
305305 SERVICE DATE: 3
306306 4
307307 DEPUTY SHERIFF/CONSTABLE: 5
308308 __________________________________________________________________ 6
309309 __________________________________________________________________ 7
310310 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 8
311311 I hereby certify that a copy of this Complaint and Summons was placed into regular U.S. 9
312312 Mail, postage prepaid, on the __________________ day of ________________, 20____, addressed 10
313313 to defendant at the following address: 11
314314 ________________________________________________. 12
315315 __________________________________ 13
316316 (Signature of ____________ Clerk) 14
317317 (h) The summons in an action for eviction for noncompliance with the rental agreement 15
318318 pursuant to § 34-18-36, or for unlawfully holding over after termination or expiration of tenancy 16
319319 pursuant to § 34-18-38, shall be in substantially the following form: 17
320320 State of Rhode Island 18
321321 District Court19
322322 Summons 20
323323 EVICTION FOR REASON OTHER THAN NONPAYMENT OF RENT 21
324324 DIVISION COUNTY CIVIL ACTION-22
325325 FILE NO. 23
326326 Address of Court: 24
327327 __________________________________ __________________________ 25
328328 V 26
329329 __________________________________ __________________________ 27
330330 __________________________________ __________________________ 28
331331 (name & address of plaintiff landlord) (name & address of defendant-tenant) 29
332332 TO THE TENANT: You are served with an eviction complaint for noncompliance with 30
333333 rental agreement (R.I.G.L. 34-18-36), or for unlawfully holding over after termination or expiration 31
334334 of tenancy (R.I.G.L. 34-18-38). If you do nothing, you will lose by default and be evicted. If you 32
335335 claim any defense, you must complete the enclosed ANSWER and file it with the Court Clerk 33
336336 within TWENTY (20) days after you are served with this summons and complaint. You should also 34
337337
338338
339339 LC000225 - Page 10 of 14
340340 mail a copy of the ANSWER to the landlord or the landlord's lawyer. If you file the enclosed 1
341341 ANSWER, then you will receive another written notice telling you when the hearing will be. If you 2
342342 have any questions, you may consult a lawyer. If you think the case is "settled" you should still file 3
343343 the enclosed ANSWER or be sure that the written settlement is in the file at the Clerk's office. 4
344344 (Proof of Service on next page) 5
345345 ________________________________________ 6
346346 PROOF OF SERVICE 7
347347 I hereby certify that I served a copy of the Complaint, Summons, and Answer form upon 8
348348 the defendant(s) by delivering or leaving said papers in the following manner: 9
349349 ____ to the defendant personally 10
350350 ____ at his/her dwelling unit or usual place of abode at the address listed below, with a 11
351351 person of suitable age then residing therein 12
352352 ____ to an agent named below authorized by appointment or by law to receive service of 13
353353 process 14
354354 ____ further notice as required by law was given as noted below 15
355355 Address of dwelling or usual place of abode: 16
356356 __________________________________________________________________ 17
357357 Name of person of suitable age or of agent: 18
358358 __________________________________________________________________ 19
359359 If none be found, by posting conspicuously on the door to the defendant's dwelling unit or 20
360360 usual place of abode. 21
361361 Service Date: ____________________ 22
362362 Deputy Sheriff/Constable (circle one): 23
363363 __________________________24
364364 ________ 25
365365 (signature) 26
366366 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 27
367367 I hereby certify that, on the …. day of …., 20…., I mailed a copy of this Summons, and 28
368368 Complaint for Eviction for Reason Other than Nonpayment of Rent, blank Answer forms, and 29
369369 Language Assistance Notice addressed to the Defendant/Tenant, at the address listed above. 30
370370 Affiant__________________________ 31
371371 (i) The summons in an action relating to any claims by tenants, or by landlords other than 32
372372 for eviction, shall be in substantially the following form: 33
373373 State of Rhode Island 34
374374
375375
376376 LC000225 - Page 11 of 14
377377 District Court Summons____________ 1
378378 ____________ _______________ ______________ 2
379379 DIVISION COUNTY CIVIL ACTION-FILE NO. 3
380380 _____________________________ _____________________________ 4
381381 PLAINTIFF PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY 5
382382 __________________________________ 6
383383 ADDRESS 7
384384 _________________ vs 8
385385 DEFENDANT 9
386386 __________________________ 10
387387 DEFENDANT'S ADDRESS 11
388388 ______________________________ __________________________________ 12
389389 TO THE ABOVE-NAMED DEFENDANT: 13
390390 You are hereby summoned and required to serve upon the plaintiff's attorney, whose name 14
391391 and address appears above, an answer to the complaint which is herewith served upon you. Your 15
392392 answer must be made within 20 days after service of this summons, excluding the date of service. 16
393393 The original must be filed in writing with this court. If you fail to do so, judgment by default will 17
394394 be taken against you for the relief demanded in the complaint. 18
395395 _____________________________ ____________________________ 19
396396 DATE CLERK 20
397397 ______________________________ __________________________________ 21
398398 SEAL OF THE DISTRICT COURT DATE 22
399399 RECEIVED 23
400400 __________________________________________________________________ 24
401401 PROOF OF SERVICE 25
402402 I hereby certify that on the date below I served a copy of this summons and a copy of the 26
403403 complaint received herewith upon the above-named defendant by delivering or leaving said papers 27
404404 in the following manner: 28
405405 □ to the defendant personally. 29
406406 □ at his dwelling house or usual place of abode at the address entered 30
407407 below, with a person of suitable age and discretion then residing therewith. 31
408408 □ to an agent named below authorized by appointment or by law to receive 32
409409 service of process. 33
410410 □ Further notice as required by statute was given as noted on the reverse 34
411411
412412
413413 LC000225 - Page 12 of 14
414414 side. 1
415415 __________________________________________________________________ 2
416416 Address of Dwelling or Usual Place of Abode 3
417417 __________________________________________________________________ 4
418418 Name of Authorized Agent or Person of Suitable Age 5
419419 ______________________________ __________________________________ 6
420420 Date Deputy Sheriff/Constable 7
421421 ______________________________ __________________________________ 8
422422 SERVICE FEE $________ 9
423423 (j) The blank answer served in eviction actions shall be in substantially the following form: 10
424424 State of Rhode Island 11
425425 _______________________, Sc. DISTRICT COURT 12
426426 ____________________________ _____________ DIVISION 13
427427 PLAINTIFF DEFENDANT 14
428428 ____________________________ __________________________________ 15
429429 (Landlord's Name) (Tenant's Name) 16
430430 V 17
431431 __________________________________ _________________________________ 18
432432 __________________________________ ________________________________ 19
433433 (address) (address of rental 20
434434 premises) 21
435435 INSTRUCTIONS TO THE DEFENDANT 22
436436 Listed below are several possible defenses to the eviction action your landlord has filed 23
437437 against you. If one or more of these defenses apply to your case, check the appropriate box(es). If 24
438438 space is provided, write in facts in support of that defense. Use additional paper if necessary. Some 25
439439 of these defenses are technical, and there may be others not listed here. You may consult a lawyer 26
440440 and seek representation before filling out this Answer. 27
441441 TENANT'S ANSWER 28
442442 The complaint against me is untrue or fails to state the following facts: 29
443443 I offered rent, but my landlord refused it. I am still able and willing to pay the rent. 30
444444 I have a defense for nonpayment because the landlord has failed to maintain the premises 31
445445 in a fit and habitable condition. 32
446446 My rent has not been paid, but I have a legally justifiable defense for not paying: 33
447447 I have a written lease which does not expire until: 34
448448
449449
450450 LC000225 - Page 13 of 14
451451 I have not received the required notice from the landlord before this complaint was served 1
452452 on me. 2
453453 The landlord is trying to evict me because I have exercised my legal rights by calling code 3
454454 enforcement officials, or by taking the following protected action: 4
455455 I have other defenses as follow: 5
456456 WHEREFORE: Because of the defense(s) indicated above, I ask the court to grant a 6
457457 judgment in my favor and not order me to be evicted. 7
458458 COUNTERCLAIM 8
459459 Instructions: If you believe you are entitled to be awarded damages or money for any reason 9
460460 from your landlord, you may fill out the statement below: 10
461461 I hereby sue my landlord for the amount of $_____________. 11
462462 I believe I am entitled to receive an award of this amount because 12
463463 __________________________________________________________________ 13
464464 __________________________________14
465465 __________________________15
466466 ________ 16
467467 Name of Defendant (or attorney) Signature of Defendant 17
468468 ___________________________________ 18
469469 Address 19
470470 ___________________________________ 20
471471 Telephone number 21
472472 ___________________________________ 22
473473 SECTION 3. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2024. 23
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477477
478478
479479 LC000225 - Page 14 of 14
480480 EXPLANATION
481481 BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
482482 OF
483483 A N A C T
484484 RELATING TO PROPERTY -- RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT
485485 ***
486486 This act would modify the summons for eviction for reasons other than nonpayment of rent 1
487487 with the district court, to add a certificate of service section, and provide the option to post the 2
488488 summons and complaint conspicuously on the door of the defendant/tenant's dwelling. 3
489489 This act would take effect on January 1, 2024. 4
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