Tenants have certain duties under statute and common law that need not be expressly named in a lease or rental agreement. A property owner cannot refuse to rent to people with children, however the owner can limit the number of people living in the apartment. The owner also has the right to sell the building, subject to any lease or agreements and tenant's rights. The owner must either transfer any tenant deposits to the new owner or refund them. If the deposits are transferred, the owner must inform tenants in writing and give them the new owner's name, address and telephone number.
Tenants have the legal right to possess the premises.
If the housing is, or becomes, uninhabitable through no fault of the tenant, the tenant may void any lease or agreement and sometimes recover damages. In the event of structural problems affecting habitability, like those listed above, the tenant should inform the property owner, in writing, as soon as possible. However, states that regulate Repair and Deduct usually limit the cost of one month's rent for any one repair, and the use of the repair and deduct remedy to not more than twice in one year. Review your state landlord-tenant law in the RHOL Property Management Web. If the buildings problems exceed a tenant's ability to correct, they can report the problem to a housing or building inspection department.