Allows for a tenant to withhold payment of rent, and deposit the rent accruing into an escrow bearing account, upon the issuance of a second notice of violation by an enforcing officer for any state or local minimum housing code enforcement agency.
Summary
H5921 amends Rhode Island’s housing maintenance and landlord-tenant laws to strengthen enforcement when a property remains in violation of minimum housing codes after notice. Under the bill, if an enforcing officer issues a second notice of violation and the cited problems are still not corrected, the tenant must place all or part of the rent that accrues into an escrow-bearing account rather than paying it directly to the landlord. The escrow amount is tied to the rent the tenant may be entitled to as an abatement for the landlord’s failure to fix the violations.
The bill also expands notice and disclosure obligations for landlords. Landlords cited for housing code violations must provide tenants with a copy of the violation notice within 30 days unless the violations are corrected, and they must disclose outstanding minimum housing code violations before entering into a new residential lease. The bill further ties tenant remedies in court actions for possession or rent to violations under § 45-24.3-17, allowing tenants to raise those violations as a counterclaim or defense.
Impact
The bill would amend provisions in Chapter 45-24.3, the Housing Maintenance and Occupancy Code, and Chapter 34-18, the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. It creates a clearer statutory mechanism for rent escrow after a second code violation notice, reinforces landlord disclosure duties, and links housing code enforcement to tenant defenses and counterclaims in eviction and rent actions. It also preserves existing enforcement tools such as reinspection, recording of notices in land records, and penalties for noncompliance, while making the tenant remedy more explicit and immediate.
Sentiment
The available record shows no committee transcript or vote history, so there is no documented debate or recorded roll-call sentiment to assess. Based on the bill’s structure, it appears designed to favor stronger tenant protections and more effective code enforcement, suggesting support from housing advocates and tenant-rights interests. At the same time, the measure would likely be viewed more cautiously by landlords and property owners because it increases disclosure duties and allows rent to be diverted into escrow when violations remain unresolved.
Contention
The main point of contention is likely the rent escrow requirement triggered by a second notice of violation, which shifts leverage toward tenants and can reduce cash flow to landlords until repairs are made. Landlords may also object to the expanded obligation to disclose violations to prospective tenants and to the bill’s treatment of subsequent transferees as bound by recorded notices. Tenant advocates, by contrast, would likely support these provisions as necessary to ensure repairs are completed and tenants are not forced to pay full rent for substandard housing.