Rhode Island Month-to-Month Lease Agreement

Required Landlord Disclosures (4)

1. Lead paint: Federal law requires that landlords inform tenants of any known or potential lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards in properties built before 1978.

2. Landlord identification: Landlords must give tenants the names and contact details of anyone authorized to manage the rental property (§ 34-18-20(a)).

3. Housing code violations: If a property has received a housing code violation from the state government, landlords must disclose the issue to tenants within 30 days after discovering it (§ 34-18-22.1).

4. Out-of-state landlords: Remote landlords living outside of Rhode Island must appoint a local agent to receive legal documents and code enforcement notices. The notice must include the agent’s name, address, and the rental property address (§ 34-18-22.3).

Required Notice to Terminate Month-to-Month Agreement

In Rhode Island, landlords and tenants must issue each other at least 30 days of written notice if they seek to end a month-to-month rental agreement. Rhode Island law doesn’t require a reason for termination, as long as the action isn’t discriminatory or retaliatory.

Rent Increase Laws

Rhode Island has no rent control or stabilization laws, meaning there is no legal limit on how much a landlord can increase rent.

As of June 24, 2024, landlords must provide:

• At least 60 days of written notice for tenants aged 62 or younger
• At least 120 days of written notice for tenants older than 62 (§ 34-18-16.1)

Rent Payment Laws

Grace period: Rhode Island tenants have a 15-day grace period after rent is due to pay rent before landlords can assess late fees or initiate eviction proceedings (§ 34-18-35(a)).

Late rent fees: No laws in Rhode Island govern late fees. Landlords can charge late fees to tenants as they see fit, as long as they outline their policy within the rental contract.

Tenant’s right to withhold rent: In Rhode Island, tenants may withhold rent to cover the cost of essential repairs of $500 or less if the landlord fails to address them. First, the tenant must give written notice to the landlord and allow them 20 days to complete the repair. If the problem remains unresolved, the tenant can pay for the repair and deduct the cost from their upcoming rent payment, as long as they provide the landlord with an itemized receipt afterwards (§ 34-18-30(a)).

Pet rent: Rhode Island doesn’t have any laws that govern pet rent, meaning landlords can charge additional rent for pets, as long as they cover the terms for doing so within the lease.

Security Deposit Rules

Maximum security deposit amount: Rhode Island allows landlords to charge tenants up to 1 month’s rent as a security deposit, including any pet-related deposits (§ 34-18-19(a)).

Receipt of deposit: Rhode Island law does not require landlords to provide tenants with a security deposit receipt.

Deduction tracking: Landlords must send tenants an itemized list of deductions and related receipts within 20 days of the move-out date (§ 34-18-19(b)).

Returning a tenant’s security deposit: Landlords have 20 days after a tenant moves out to return their security deposit, less any deductions for damage beyond normal wear and tear, unpaid rent, or other fees (§ 34-18-19(b)).

Property Access Regulations

Advance notice: Rhode Island landlords must give tenants at least 2 days of notice before entering a rental unit for maintenance, showings, inspections, or other non-emergent reasons (§ 34-18-26(c)).

Immediate access: Landlords may enter a rental unit without notifying the tenant beforehand during emergencies. Additionally, if the tenant is away from their rental unit for more than 7 days and an issue needs attention, landlords don’t need to give notice before entering (§ 34-18-26(b)).

Landlord harassment: Rhode Island state law prohibits landlords from entering a rental unit without proper notice or using repeated entries to harass tenants. Multiple violations of this nature may constitute landlord harassment, which could allow tenants to terminate their lease prematurely without legal recourse (§ 34-18-26(c)).

Rental Agreement Violations

Missed rent payment: If rent remains unpaid after the grace period, the landlord may issue the tenant a 5-day Notice to Quit (§ 34-18-35(a)).

Lease violation: Landlords can serve tenants a written notice for a lease violation. In these cases, tenants have 20 days to correct the issue before the landlord moves to terminate the contract (§ 34-18-36(a)).

Self-help evictions: Rhode Island law strictly bans self-help evictions to remove tenants. Examples include changing locks, turning off their utilities, or removing their belongings. Landlords must follow the formal eviction process to remove a tenant (§ 34-18-44).

Lease abandonment: Tenants who abandon a rental unit may still owe rent for the remainder of the contract or until the landlord re-rents the property, whichever comes first (§ 34-18-40).