A Nashville lease agreement is a legal document between a landlord and tenant outlining the terms of a residential lease. It states how the tenant can use the property in exchange for regular payments. It also defines the landlord’s responsibilities to the tenant, ensuring they provide safe living conditions.
Nashville Lease Requirements
Nashville adheres to the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act of Tennessee (Title 66, Chapter 28) but has more extensive regulations than the statewide standard. Here are some local considerations for landlords:
Required Notice for Rent Increases
When there’s no written rental agreement requiring a notice period of sixty days or more for a rent increase, landlords must give at least 90 days’ written notice (Nashville Municipal Code Sec. 11.22.010).
Required Notice for Assigning Leases
If a landlord assigns their rights under a residential lease, the new landlord (the “assignee”) must deliver specific information to the tenant within 14 days (Nashville Municipal Code Sec. 11.2.020).
Required Notice for Terminating Leases
If the landlord and tenant don’t have a written agreement requiring at least 60 days’ written notice of an intent not to renew a lease, a landlord must issue at least 60 days’ notice prior to the end of the lease if they intend not to renew (Nashville Municipal Code Sec. 11.22.030).
Property Standards Enforcement Code
The Nashville Property Standards Division enforces building and zoning standard codes. City law has specific requirements for storing specific items on properties. For example, landlords and tenants can’t store inoperable vehicles, automotive parts, rubbish, and other debris (Nashville Municipal Code Sec. 16.24.330).
Conflicts with Federal Law
If anything within Nashville’s Title 11, Chapter 22 conflicts with state law, state law will prevail (Nashville Municipal Code Sec. 11.22.040).
Optional Lease Disclosures and Addendums
Even though these disclosures are optional, landlords can add them to promote transparency:
- Crime-free disclosure: Nashville is only safer than 3% of neighborhoods in the U.S., so having a crime-free disclosure can help landlords establish that they’re intolerant of tenants conducting illegal activity on the property.
- Pet disclosure: Because Nashville is a pet-friendly city, landlords can use a pet disclosure to outline the requirements tenants with pets must follow.
- Pest control disclosure: Nashville is the top Tennessee city for rodent infestations, so it’s important to have a pest control disclosure to prevent and mitigate rats’ presence.
