What Is a Retaliatory Eviction?

Full Video Transcript

If you are a tenant, you should feel comfortable notifying your landlord of any issues you have with your rental unit. Unfortunately, in some cases, landlords retaliate against complaining tenants by raising their rents or evicting them. Many states have retaliatory eviction laws which protect tenants who have exercised certain statutory rights. These laws typically protect actions such as exercising the repair and deduct remedy, complaining about the condition of the unit to a landlord or a public agency, filing a lawsuit based on the condition of the rental unit, or causing a public agency to inspect the unit for unsafe conditions. You should never have to live in unsafe or unhealthy rental conditions, and the law protects you from unsympathetic landlords.