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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | 2025 -- H 5918 |
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| 6 | 6 | | ======== |
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| 7 | 7 | | LC002063 |
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| 8 | 8 | | ======== |
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| 9 | 9 | | S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D |
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| 10 | 10 | | IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 11 | 11 | | JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025 |
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| 12 | 12 | | ____________ |
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| 13 | 13 | | |
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| 14 | 14 | | A N A C T |
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| 15 | 15 | | RELATING TO PROPERTY -- RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT |
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| 16 | 16 | | Introduced By: Representatives Casey, Costantino, Chippendale, Finkelman, J. Brien, |
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| 17 | 17 | | Phillips, Baginski, Lima, Noret, and Corvese |
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| 18 | 18 | | Date Introduced: February 28, 2025 |
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| 19 | 19 | | Referred To: House Judiciary |
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| 20 | 20 | | |
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| 21 | 21 | | |
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| 22 | 22 | | It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
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| 23 | 23 | | SECTION 1. Section 34-18-46 of the General Laws in Chapter 34-18 entitled "Residential 1 |
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| 24 | 24 | | Landlord and Tenant Act" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2 |
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| 25 | 25 | | 34-18-46. Retaliatory conduct prohibited. 3 |
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| 26 | 26 | | (a) Except as provided in this section, a landlord may not retaliate by increasing rent or 4 |
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| 27 | 27 | | decreasing services or by bringing or threatening to bring an action for possession because: 5 |
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| 28 | 28 | | (1) The tenant has complained to a governmental agency charged with responsibility for 6 |
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| 29 | 29 | | enforcement of a building or housing code of a violation applicable to the premises materially 7 |
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| 30 | 30 | | affecting health and safety; or 8 |
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| 31 | 31 | | (2) The tenant has complained to the landlord of a violation under § 34-18-22; or 9 |
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| 32 | 32 | | (3) The tenant has organized or become a member of a tenants’ union or similar 10 |
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| 33 | 33 | | organization; or 11 |
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| 34 | 34 | | (4) The tenant has availed himself or herself of any other lawful rights and remedies. 12 |
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| 35 | 35 | | (b) If the landlord acts in violation of subsection (a), the tenant is entitled to the remedies 13 |
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| 36 | 36 | | provided in § 34-18-34 and has a defense in any retaliatory action against him or her for possession. 14 |
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| 37 | 37 | | In an action by or against the tenant, evidence of a complaint within six (6) months before the 15 |
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| 38 | 38 | | alleged act of retaliation creates a presumption that the landlord’s conduct was in retaliation. The 16 |
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| 39 | 39 | | presumption does not arise if the tenant made the complaint after notice of a proposed rental 17 |
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| 40 | 40 | | increase or diminution of services. “Presumption” means that the trier of fact must find the 18 |
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| 41 | 41 | | existence of the fact presumed unless and until evidence is introduced which would support a 19 |
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| 42 | 42 | | |
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| 43 | 43 | | |
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| 44 | 44 | | LC002063 - Page 2 of 6 |
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| 45 | 45 | | finding of its nonexistence. 1 |
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| 46 | 46 | | (c) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b), this subsection shall not be considered 2 |
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| 47 | 47 | | retaliatory, and a landlord may bring an action for possession if: 3 |
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| 48 | 48 | | (1) The violation of the applicable building or housing code was caused primarily by lack 4 |
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| 49 | 49 | | of reasonable care by the tenant, a member of his or her family, or other person on the premises 5 |
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| 50 | 50 | | with his or her consent; or 6 |
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| 51 | 51 | | (2) The tenant is in default in rent; or 7 |
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| 52 | 52 | | (3) Compliance with the applicable lead mitigation act, building or housing code or other 8 |
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| 53 | 53 | | public action such as eminent domain, requires alteration, remodeling, or demolition which would 9 |
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| 54 | 54 | | effectively deprive the tenant of use of the dwelling unit, and the relocation requirements have been 10 |
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| 55 | 55 | | met by the municipality. 11 |
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| 56 | 56 | | (d) The maintenance of an action under subsection (c) of this section does not release the 12 |
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| 57 | 57 | | landlord from liability under § 34-18-28(b). 13 |
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| 58 | 58 | | SECTION 2. Section 34-18-58 of the General Laws in Chapter 34-18 entitled "Residential 14 |
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| 59 | 59 | | Landlord and Tenant Act" is hereby amended to read as follows: 15 |
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| 60 | 60 | | 34-18-58. Statewide mandatory rental registry. 16 |
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| 61 | 61 | | (a) All landlords who lease a residential property constructed prior to 1978 and that is not 17 |
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| 62 | 62 | | exempt from the requirements of chapter 128.1 of title 42 (“lead hazard mitigation”) shall register 18 |
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| 63 | 63 | | the following information with the department of health: 19 |
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| 64 | 64 | | (1) Names of individual landlords or any the business entity or property management 20 |
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| 65 | 65 | | company responsible for leasing to a tenant under this chapter; 21 |
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| 66 | 66 | | (2) An active business address, PO box, or home address; 22 |
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| 67 | 67 | | (3) An active email address; 23 |
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| 68 | 68 | | (4) An active telephone number that would reasonably facilitate communications with the 24 |
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| 69 | 69 | | tenant of each dwelling unit; and 25 |
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| 70 | 70 | | (5) Any property manager, management company, or agent for service of the property, 26 |
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| 71 | 71 | | along with the business address, PO box, or home address of the property manager, management 27 |
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| 72 | 72 | | company, or agent and including: 28 |
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| 73 | 73 | | (i) An active email address; and 29 |
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| 74 | 74 | | (ii) An active telephone number, for each such person or legal entity, if applicable, for each 30 |
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| 75 | 75 | | dwelling unit; and 31 |
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| 76 | 76 | | (6) Information necessary to identify each dwelling unit. 32 |
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| 77 | 77 | | (b) All landlords who lease a residential property constructed prior to 1978 and that is not 33 |
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| 78 | 78 | | exempt from the requirements of chapter 128.1 of title 42 (“lead hazard mitigation”) shall, in 34 |
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| 79 | 79 | | |
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| 80 | 80 | | |
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| 81 | 81 | | LC002063 - Page 3 of 6 |
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| 82 | 82 | | addition to the requirements of subsection (a) of this section, for each dwelling unit, provide the 1 |
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| 83 | 83 | | department of health with a valid certificate of conformance in accordance with chapter 128.1 of 2 |
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| 84 | 84 | | title 42 (“lead hazard mitigation”) and regulations derived therefrom, or evidence sufficient to 3 |
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| 85 | 85 | | demonstrate that they are exempt from the requirement to obtain a certificate of conformance. 4 |
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| 86 | 86 | | (c) Contingent upon available funding, the department of health, or designee, shall create 5 |
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| 87 | 87 | | a publicly accessible an online database containing the information obtained in accordance with 6 |
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| 88 | 88 | | subsections (a) and (b) of this section, no later than nine (9) months following the effective date of 7 |
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| 89 | 89 | | this section [June 20, 2023]. The information contained in this database shall not be available to 8 |
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| 90 | 90 | | the public and shall only be accessible to: 9 |
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| 91 | 91 | | (1) Tenant(s) who reside in the rental unit they are requesting information on; 10 |
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| 92 | 92 | | (2) The department of health (hereinafter referred to in this section as (“DOH”); 11 |
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| 93 | 93 | | (3) Any city or town in the State of Rhode Island; 12 |
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| 94 | 94 | | (4) The Rhode Island judiciary; and 13 |
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| 95 | 95 | | (5) Any other Rhode Island governmental agency with a legitimate purpose; provided and 14 |
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| 96 | 96 | | only if that, purpose is related to lead or code enforcement and in no case shall the information 15 |
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| 97 | 97 | | contained in the database be used for any other purpose. 16 |
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| 98 | 98 | | (d) All landlords subject to the requirements of subsections (a) and (b) of this section as of 17 |
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| 99 | 99 | | September 1, 2024, shall register the information required by those subsections no later than 18 |
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| 100 | 100 | | October 1, 2024 2025. 19 |
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| 101 | 101 | | A landlord who acquires a rental property, or begins leasing a rental property to a new 20 |
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| 102 | 102 | | tenant, after September 1, 2024, shall register the information required by subsections (a) and (b) 21 |
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| 103 | 103 | | of this section within thirty (30) sixty (60) days after the acquisition or lease to a tenant, whichever 22 |
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| 104 | 104 | | date is earlier. All landlords subject to the requirements of subsections (a) and (b) of this section 23 |
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| 105 | 105 | | shall, following initial registration, and shall re-register by October 1 of each year in order to update 24 |
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| 106 | 106 | | any information required to comply with subsections (a) and (b) of this section, but is not required 25 |
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| 107 | 107 | | to register each year if there has been no change in the information to be updated, or to confirm that 26 |
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| 108 | 108 | | the information already supplied remains accurate. 27 |
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| 109 | 109 | | (e) Any person or entity subject to subsections (a) and (b) of this section who fails to 28 |
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| 110 | 110 | | comply with the registration provision in subsection (d) of this section, shall be subject to a civil 29 |
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| 111 | 111 | | fine of at least fifty dollars ($50.00) per month for failure to register the information required by 30 |
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| 112 | 112 | | subsection (a) of this section, or at least one hundred and twenty-five dollars ($125) per month, for 31 |
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| 113 | 113 | | failure to register the information required by subsection (b) of this section. 32 |
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| 114 | 114 | | (f) All civil penalties imposed pursuant to subsection (e) of this section shall be payable to 33 |
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| 115 | 115 | | the department of health. There is to be established a restricted receipt account to be known as the 34 |
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| 116 | 116 | | |
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| 117 | 117 | | |
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| 118 | 118 | | LC002063 - Page 4 of 6 |
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| 119 | 119 | | “rental registry account” which shall be a separate account within the department of health. 1 |
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| 120 | 120 | | Penalties received by the department pursuant to the terms of this section shall be deposited into 2 |
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| 121 | 121 | | the account. Monies deposited into the account shall be transferred to the department of health and 3 |
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| 122 | 122 | | shall be expended for the purpose of administering the provisions of this section or lead hazard 4 |
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| 123 | 123 | | mitigation, abatement, enforcement, or poisoning prevention. No penalties shall be levied under 5 |
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| 124 | 124 | | this section prior to October 1, 2024. 6 |
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| 125 | 125 | | (g) Notwithstanding the provisions of § 34-18-35, a landlord or any agent of a landlord 7 |
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| 126 | 126 | | may not commence an action to evict for nonpayment of rent in any court of competent jurisdiction, 8 |
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| 127 | 127 | | unless, at the time the action is commenced, the landlord is in compliance with the requirements of 9 |
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| 128 | 128 | | subsections (a), (b), and (d) of this section. A landlord must present the court with evidence of 10 |
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| 129 | 129 | | compliance with subsections (a), (b), and (d) of this section at the time of filing an action to evict 11 |
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| 130 | 130 | | for nonpayment of rent in order to proceed with the civil action. 12 |
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| 131 | 131 | | (h) The department of health may commence an action for injunctive relief and additional 13 |
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| 132 | 132 | | civil penalties of up to fifty dollars ($50.00) per violation against any landlord who repeatedly fails 14 |
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| 133 | 133 | | to comply with subsection (a) of this section. The attorney general may commence an action for 15 |
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| 134 | 134 | | injunctive relief and additional civil penalties of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000) per violation 16 |
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| 135 | 135 | | against any landlord who repeatedly fails to comply with subsection (b) of this section. Any 17 |
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| 136 | 136 | | penalties obtained pursuant to this subsection shall be used for the purposes of lead hazard 18 |
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| 137 | 137 | | mitigation, abatement, enforcement, or poisoning prevention, or for the purpose of administering 19 |
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| 138 | 138 | | the provisions of this section. No penalties shall be levied under this section prior to October 1, 20 |
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| 139 | 139 | | 2024. 21 |
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| 140 | 140 | | (i) The DOH or any related agency shall allow any landlord required to register in 22 |
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| 141 | 141 | | accordance with this section to register free of charge. 23 |
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| 142 | 142 | | (j) The DOH shall strictly comply with the requirements of this section and shall not create 24 |
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| 143 | 143 | | any additional burdens, regulations or require more information than is required by this section or 25 |
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| 144 | 144 | | the requirements of chapter 128.1 of title 42. 26 |
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| 145 | 145 | | (k) The DOH shall promptly issue any lead inspection documentation requested by a 27 |
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| 146 | 146 | | landlord to evidence compliance with this section and the requirements of chapter 128.1 of title 42. 28 |
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| 147 | 147 | | This documentation shall include, but is not limited to, the issuance of any lead conformance 29 |
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| 148 | 148 | | renewals based on visual affidavit, and such renewals shall be issued no more than seven (7) days 30 |
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| 149 | 149 | | after submission by the landlord to the DOH. If the DOH, after receiving a visual affidavit for 31 |
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| 150 | 150 | | renewal, fails to issue a renewal certificate within seven (7) days, the landlord shall keep evidence 32 |
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| 151 | 151 | | of the submission until the DOH issues the renewal and said affidavit so submitted shall be 33 |
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| 152 | 152 | | considered prima facie evidence of the landlord’s compliance with this section and not liable for 34 |
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| 153 | 153 | | |
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| 154 | 154 | | |
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| 155 | 155 | | LC002063 - Page 5 of 6 |
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| 156 | 156 | | any fines hereunder. 1 |
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| 157 | 157 | | SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. 2 |
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| 158 | 158 | | ======== |
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| 159 | 159 | | LC002063 |
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| 160 | 160 | | ======== |
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| 161 | 161 | | |
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| 162 | 162 | | |
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| 163 | 163 | | LC002063 - Page 6 of 6 |
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| 164 | 164 | | EXPLANATION |
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| 165 | 165 | | BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL |
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| 166 | 166 | | OF |
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| 167 | 167 | | A N A C T |
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| 168 | 168 | | RELATING TO PROPERTY -- RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT |
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| 169 | 169 | | *** |
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| 170 | 170 | | This bill would require landlords of residential properties built before 1978 to register lead 1 |
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| 171 | 171 | | hazard mitigation information with the department of health and the information would be private 2 |
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| 172 | 172 | | and only accessible by specific entities. The act also would make revisions to prohibited retaliatory 3 |
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| 173 | 173 | | conduct and the statewide mandatory rental registry. The act further would allow landlords to 4 |
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| 174 | 174 | | register free of charge, restrict DOH from creating any additional burdens, and issue lead 5 |
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| 175 | 175 | | documentation promptly. 6 |
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| 176 | 176 | | This act would take effect upon passage. 7 |
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| 177 | 177 | | ======== |
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| 178 | 178 | | LC002063 |
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| 179 | 179 | | ======== |
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