2023 -- H 6062
========
LC002347
========
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 Speakman, Cruz, Morales, and Sanchez
Date Introduced: March 03, 2023
Referred To: House Judiciary
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Chapter 34-18 of the General Laws entitled "Residential Landlord and Tenant 1
Act" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 2
34-18-58. Tenants' bill of rights. 3
A tenant shall be provided the following rights: 4
(1) Prior to the commencement of any hearing, the judge shall advise the tenant in any 5
eviction matter, that if they are financially unable to engage counsel, and there are children that are 6
permanent residents of the dwelling, that they are entitled to the services of the public defender. 7
The public defender shall, at the request of a judge of a district court, appear in court on behalf of 8
that person. 9
(2) The right of habitability in accordance with § 45-24.3-6. 10
(3) Tenants shall be permitted to freely and peacefully come together, free from 11
harassment, to organize for their rights, in accordance with § 34-18-46. 12
(4) A right of refusal to purchase the real property in which they reside in the event a 13
landlord desires to sell the property. The landlord shall provide the tenant with a sixty (60) day 14
period to exercise the right of first refusal which shall be based on identical terms the property is 15
offered to any other potential purchaser. This provision shall exclude the sale of a single “dwelling 16
unit” as defined in § 45-24-31(24). 17
(5) It shall be unlawful for a landlord or any person or other entity whose business includes 18
showing, leasing or renting properties to prospective tenants to discriminate against any person in 19
LC002347 - Page 2 of 6
making available a rental property, or in the terms and conditions of the rental property, because of 1
race, color, religion, marital status, former service in the military irrespective of discharge status, 2
active service in the armed forces, country of ancestral origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender 3
identity or expression, age, disability, familial status, source of income, or employment or lack 4
thereof, criminal record or housing, or credit score. 5
(6) The right to be free from eviction without good cause pursuant to §§ 34-18-35 and 34-6
18-36. 7
SECTION 2. Section 34-18-15 of the General Laws in Chapter 34-18 entitled "Residential 8
Landlord and Tenant Act" is hereby amended to read as follows: 9
34-18-15. Terms and conditions of rental agreement. 10
(a) A landlord and a tenant may include in a rental agreement terms and conditions not 11
prohibited by this chapter or other rule of law, including rent, term of the agreement, and other 12
provisions governing the rights and obligations of the parties. 13
(b) In absence of agreement, the tenant shall pay as rent the fair rental value for the use and 14
occupancy of the dwelling unit. 15
(c) Rent is payable without demand or notice at the time and place agreed upon by the 16
parties. Unless otherwise agreed, rent is payable at the dwelling unit and periodic rent is payable at 17
the beginning of any term of one month or less and otherwise in equal monthly installments at the 18
beginning of each month. Unless otherwise agreed, rent is uniformly apportionable from day-to-19
day. 20
(d) Unless the rental agreement fixes a definite term, the tenancy is week-to-week in case 21
of a roomer who pays weekly rent, and in all other cases month to month. 22
(e) A tenant who is sixty-five (65) years of age or older or who will turn sixty-five (65) 23
during the term of a rental agreement for a dwelling unit may terminate such a rental agreement in 24
order to enter a residential care and assisted living facility, as defined in § 23-17.4-2, a nursing 25
facility, or a unit in a private or public housing complex designated by the federal government as 26
housing for the elderly. The tenant may terminate the rental agreement by notice given in writing 27
to the usual person to whom rental payments are made. The notice shall be accompanied by 28
documentation of admission or pending admission to a facility or housing complex described in 29
this section. Termination of the rental agreement shall be effective no earlier than forty-five (45) 30
days after the first rental payment due date following delivery of written notice of termination. 31
(f)(1) A lease of premises occupied, or intended to be occupied, by a servicemember or a 32
servicemember’s dependents may be unilaterally terminated if: 33
(i) The lease is executed by or on behalf of a person who, thereafter, and during the term 34
LC002347 - Page 3 of 6
of the lease, enters military service; or 1
(ii) The servicemember, while in military service, executes the lease and thereafter receives 2
military orders for a change of permanent station or to deploy with a military unit, or as an 3
individual in support of a military operation, for a period of not less than ninety (90) days; and 4
(iii) The lessee delivers to the lessor (or the lessor’s grantee), or to the lessor’s agent (or 5
the agent’s grantee), written notice of the termination, and a copy of the servicemember’s military 6
orders. 7
(2) Effective date of lease termination. In the event that a lease provides for monthly 8
payment of rent, termination of the lease under this section is effective thirty (30) days after the 9
first date on which the next rental payment is due and payable after the date on which the notice is 10
delivered. 11
(3) In the case of any other lease, termination of the lease is effective on the last day of the 12
month following the month in which the notice is delivered. 13
(4) The lessee shall be responsible for rent amounts of the lease that are unpaid for the 14
period preceding the effective date of the lease termination on a prorated basis. The lessor may not 15
impose an early termination charge, but any taxes, summonses, or other obligations and liabilities 16
of the lessee in accordance with the terms of the lease, including reasonable charges to the lessee 17
for excess wear, that are due and unpaid at the time of termination of the lease, shall be paid by the 18
lessee. 19
(5) Rent paid in advance. Rents or lease amounts paid in advance for a period after the 20
effective date of the termination of the lease shall be refunded to the lessee by the lessor (or the 21
lessor’s assignee or the assignee’s agent) within thirty (30) days of the effective date of the 22
termination of the lease. 23
(6) A lessee’s termination of a lease pursuant to this section shall terminate any obligation 24
a dependent of the lessee may have under the lease. 25
(g) Prior to the expiration of a lease, and upon a written agreement between a landlord and 26
tenant to renew a lease, the default renewal period shall be year-to-year. The tenant shall retain the 27
exclusive option to waive this default year-to-year term in favor of a differing renewal term agreed 28
to by both the tenant and the landlord. Upon renewal of a lease, a landlord may not raise rent more 29
than four percent (4%) in a given year absent articulable evidence necessitating an increase of rent 30
at a rate greater than four percent (4%) in a given year. 31
SECTION 3. Section 45-24.3-6 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-24.3 entitled "Housing 32
Maintenance and Occupancy Code" is hereby amended to read as follows: 33
45-24.3-6. Responsibilities of owners and occupants. 34
LC002347 - Page 4 of 6
(a) No owner or operator or other person shall occupy, or let to another person, any vacant 1
dwelling, dwelling unit, or structure unless it and the premises are clean, sanitary, fit for human 2
occupancy, and comply with this chapter and all applicable legal requirements of the state and the 3
corporate unit. 4
(b) Every owner of a multiple dwelling is responsible for maintaining, in a clean and 5
sanitary condition, the shared or public areas of the dwelling and premises. Occupants of two (2) 6
and three (3) family dwellings shall share the maintenance of clean and sanitary conditions within 7
the shared or public areas of the dwelling and premises. 8
(c) Every occupant of a dwelling, dwelling unit, or structure shall maintain in a clean 9
sanitary condition that part or those parts of the dwelling, dwelling unit, or structure and premises 10
that the occupant occupies and controls. 11
(d) Every occupant of a dwelling, dwelling unit, or structure shall dispose of all his or her 12
rubbish in a clean, sanitary, and safe manner. 13
(e) Every occupant of a dwelling, dwelling unit, or structure shall dispose of all his or her 14
garbage and any other organic waste which might provide food for insects and/or rodents in a clean, 15
sanitary, and safe manner, and if a container is used for storage pending collection it shall be rodent 16
proof, insect proof, and watertight. 17
(f) Every owner or operator of a dwelling containing four (4) or more dwelling units shall 18
supply facilities or containers for the sanitary and safe storage and/or disposal of rubbish and 19
garbage. In the case of single, two (2) or three (3) family dwellings and structures it is the 20
responsibility of the occupant to furnish those facilities or refuse containers. 21
(g) The owner of a dwelling, dwelling unit, or structure is responsible for providing and 22
hanging all screens and double or storm doors and windows where used for ventilation whenever 23
they are required under the provisions of this chapter or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant to 24
this chapter, except where there is a written agreement between the owner and occupant. In the 25
absence of an agreement, maintenance or replacement of screens, and storm doors and windows, 26
once installed in any one season, become the responsibility of the occupant. 27
(h) The owner of a dwelling or dwelling unit is responsible for the providing and hanging 28
of shades or other devices on every window of every room used for sleeping and for every room 29
equipped with a flush water closet or bathtub, affording privacy to persons within those rooms. 30
Once installed in any one rental by the owner, replacements become the responsibility of the 31
occupant. 32
(i) Every occupant of a dwelling containing a single dwelling unit and every occupant of a 33
structure is responsible for the extermination of any insects, rodents, or other pests therein or on 34
LC002347 - Page 5 of 6
the premises. Every occupant of a dwelling unit, in a dwelling containing more than one dwelling 1
unit, is responsible for this extermination whenever his or her dwelling is the only one infected. 2
Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this subsection, whenever infestation is caused by a 3
failure of the owner to maintain a dwelling in a rodent-proof or reasonably insect-proof condition, 4
extermination is the responsibility of the owner. Whenever infestation exists in two (2) or more of 5
the dwelling units in any dwelling, or in the shared or public parts of any dwelling containing two 6
(2) or more dwelling units, extermination is the responsibility of the owner. 7
(j) Every occupant of a dwelling unit or structure shall keep all supplied plumbing fixtures 8
and facilities in a clean and sanitary condition, and is responsible for the exercise of reasonable 9
care in their proper use and operation. 10
(k) No owner or occupant of a dwelling, dwelling unit, or structure shall accumulate or 11
permit the accumulation of rubbish, boxes, lumber, scrap metal, or any other materials in a manner 12
that may provide a rodent harborage in or about any dwelling, dwelling unit, or structure. Stored 13
materials shall be stacked neatly in piles elevated at least eighteen inches (18") above the ground 14
or floor. The provisions of this subsection do not apply to firewood or kindling wood stored in or 15
about any dwelling, dwelling unit, or structure by the owner or occupant of that property; provided, 16
that the wood is stored for use within the dwelling, dwelling unit or structure, unless prohibited by 17
town or city ordinance. 18
(l) Every owner of a multiple dwelling is responsible for the mitigation of insect 19
infestations including, but not limited to, bed bugs, ants, cockroaches, termites, fleas, and flies. The 20
owner shall be required to obtain an inspection of the infestation not more than ninety-six (96) 21
hours after receiving notice from the occupant. The owner shall be required to communicate to the 22
occupant the results of the inspection within two (2) business days of the inspection. The owner 23
shall be required to commence mitigation efforts within five (5) business days of receiving notice 24
from an inspector of the presence of an infestation. 25
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage. 26
========
LC002347
========
LC002347 - Page 6 of 6
EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO PROPERTY – RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT
***
This act would create a tenants’ bill of rights wherein a tenant would be provided a right to 1
counsel, a right of habitability, the right to freely and peacefully come together to organize for their 2
rights, right of first refusal to purchase the real property they reside within if put on the market for 3
sale, and the right to be free from eviction without good cause. Tenants would also be provided a 4
default renewal period of year to year upon the renewal of any lease, and the landlord would be 5
prohibited from increasing the rent by more than four percent (4%) annually absent articulable 6
evidence necessitating an increase of rent at a rate greater than four percent (4%). Landlords would 7
further be responsible for the mitigation of insect infestations of a multiple family dwelling. 8
This act would take effect upon passage. 9
========
LC002347
========