By James Kemp and Ryan C. Davis
What are the legal defenses against an eviction?
Under Tennessee’s Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, landlords must follow very specific rules and procedures when evicting tenants. It should not come as a surprise that landlords often do not follow the law when evicting tenants. As such, there are several defenses that can be made which may prevent landlords from evicting tenants.
Landlords cannot evict tenants through a “self-help” eviction. This type of illegal eviction occurs when landlords attempt to evict tenants in any way other than a proper court order. If your landlord attempts to evict you without going through the court, you may be able to sue for damages and for possession of the rental unit.
Landlords must follow all proper eviction procedures. This includes, but is not limited to, giving proper notice to tenants of their eviction, filing an eviction notice in General Sessions court, and appearing in court at the eviction hearing. A landlord’s failure to adhere to the proper procedures may prevent him or her from being able to evict you.
Tenants failing to pay rent. If a tenant fails to pay rent and his or her landlord initiates the evictions process, the tenant can potentially stop this process if he or she promptly pays the balance of rent owed.
Failure by landlord to maintain the premises. If there is a defect in the rental unit and proper notice has been given to the landlord, and the landlord fails to make the repair within a reasonable amount of time, this may be a defense to eviction.
Landlords cannot evict tenants based on discrimination. Both the Federal Fair Housing Act and Tennessee’s Anti-Discrimination law prohibit landlords from discriminating against a tenant based on creed, gender, identify, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran or armed forces statues, blindness, hearing loss, or any other disability.
If you are facing wrongful eviction, contact our experienced Landlord-Tenant lawyers at Ryan C. Davis Law, PLLC to see if you have a valid defense. Reach out to us at 615-649-0110 to discuss the specific circumstances of your case and learn what options may be available to you.
