Landlord and tenant rules are easy to get wrong. They differ by state and city, they change, and old rules get repeated long after a law moves on. This page sets out where our rules and figures come from, how statutes are read and dated, how often they are rechecked, what is only our assumption, and where our limits are.
This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Landlord and tenant law varies by state and city, and changes. Ask the court, your state agency, a lawyer or legal aid about your case.
Where rules and figures come from
We go to the source that makes the rule, and link it at the claim:
- State law: the statute in the legislature’s own text, such as California, Texas, Florida, Washington, Arizona, Virginia and Pennsylvania.
- Court steps: court rules and court self-help pages, such as California’s eviction guide for landlords and Pennsylvania’s rules for magisterial district judges. Forms are linked at the court or state, never hosted here.
- State agencies and attorneys general: useful summaries, but not the statute. We name them in plain words, such as “the Attorney General’s guide says”.
- Federal rules: HUD, FTC, CFPB, EPA and IRS documents and the Code of Federal Regulations.
- Court decisions: the opinion itself. If we know an opinion only through another court’s description of it, we say so.
- Tax figures: IRS publications, always with their year. As of 5 November 2026 the 2026 editions of Publications 527, 946 and 925 are not out, so we do not guess at them.
- Data: public agencies, and named academic sources labelled as such. Eviction Lab at Princeton, for example, is an academic count, not a government one.
- Commercial sites: named only for labelled estimates, or as claims being checked. A rule read only on a form site or a vendor’s blog is not a source.
How a claim gets on the page
Each rule and figure is sorted by how directly it was read, and that decides how we word it:
- Read in the statute, or on an official court or agency page. We state it plainly and give the citation and the date we read it.
- Read only in an official summary, or in a copy marked unofficial. We re-read the statute if we can. If not, we attribute the summary or label the copy, so you can weigh it.
- Not confirmed. It stays off the page, or the page says “not confirmed” and sends you to the court or state agency. State tables show “not confirmed” for any state we have not read. We never fill a gap from a form site.
How statutes are read and dated
A statute can say something different from what is written about it, so we follow a few habits:
- Read date on every state figure. Each one carries its statute and the day we read it, and each page ends with the date its sources were checked. If a legislature shows the year of its edition, we use that too.
- The version in force. Some sections show more than one version. Va. Code 55.1-1245 gives a tenant 14 days after written notice of unpaid rent, and a later version adds a payment-plan duty for landlords with more than 4 units from 1 July 2027. We state the rule that applies now, and say what is coming and when.
- When a change starts. Texas SB 38 rewrote the eviction steps for suits filed from 1 January 2026. Our Texas eviction page uses the current statute, not the older pages that still circulate.
- Exact words on limits. Texas’s 12% and 10% late-fee figures in Prop. Code 92.019 say when a fee is considered reasonable. They are not a flat cap, so we do not call them one.
- Silence is not a rule. When a chapter says nothing on a point, we write “the chapter we read sets no…” rather than “there is no limit”. Another chapter, a city code or case law may still apply.
- Unit counts and cities. Where a rule depends on how many units you own, we give the number and the statute. Where a city overrides its state, we name the city.
- Results that are not final. We report no local rent ballot result until it has been certified.
When sources disagree
We show the disagreement instead of quietly picking a side. Three examples:
- Courts. The Arizona Court of Appeals held on 12 June 2026 in Barrera v. Sedona Pointe that “the better reading is that the notice requirement has expired” for the CARES Act’s 30-day notice, while saying that most state courts have concluded it remains in effect. We say both and name no winner.
- A statute and a court rule. Pennsylvania’s Landlord and Tenant Act, s.503(b), says “after the fifth day”. Rule 515B, in the rules as amended 21 April 2026 with effect from 1 November 2026, lets a landlord under a residential lease ask for an order for possession after the 10th day. We use the rule, give its date and send readers to the magisterial district court. Philadelphia uses its Municipal Court, which these rules do not describe.
- An agency’s policy and the law. HUD withdrew its assistance-animal notices and, separately, its 2016 criminal-records guidance. Its 22 May 2026 memo limits HUD cause findings in animal cases to animals trained to provide disability-related assistance. That is enforcement policy, not a change in the Fair Housing Act, and the memo says it does not affect the right to seek redress through a private action in court. Pages it touches, such as emotional support animals and tenant screening, say both halves.
How pages are checked
After a page is written, a separate fact-check compares each rule, limit, deadline, fee and date with its source, and reworks every sum on the page. A final review looks for errors, gaps and anything that could lead a reader to skip a required notice or court step. A page with a serious problem still open does not go out. Each calculator formula is tested against answers worked by hand before the calculator goes live.
How often rules are rechecked
- State pages: every three months.
- Rent caps: at each yearly change. California, Oregon, Washington and New York City each publish theirs on their own calendar.
- Tax figures: when the new IRS editions appear.
- Laws with a known start date: when the date arrives. Pennsylvania’s Acts 64 and 67 of 2026 start on 21 December 2026 by our count, for example, and we recheck them after that.
- Everything else: at least every six months, and sooner when we learn a source has changed.
A page shows an updated date only when its content really changed. Between rechecks a law can change without our knowing, which is why each state figure shows the day we read it.
What is an assumption
Where we work something out ourselves, we say so:
- Arithmetic. Prorating rent or adding up a deposit’s interest is plain math, and the working is shown. Proration has more than one method, so the prorated rent calculator shows each. A lease or a local rule can set which one applies.
- Counted dates. Where we work out a date from a statute, such as a law taking effect 60 days after approval, we say it is our count.
- Calculator defaults. Each one that is a rate or a rule says where it comes from and when, or that it is “our assumption”, and you can change it.
- Inferences. A conclusion the source does not state is labelled as ours.
Calculators give estimates and never say what you may charge or owe. The rent increase calculator sets your figure beside the published percentage. Caps depend on the unit, and many units are exempt, so it does not say whether an increase is lawful.
How cost figures are shown
Statutory caps, rates and court fees are given as read, with the state, the date and the citation. Fees come from the court or state schedule, or from a named county, and we say when other charges apply and were not read. Where no primary source exists, as with most lawyer, repair and turnover costs, published ranges appear side by side. Each is named, dated and labelled “published estimates”, and we never average them. An estimate is not a quote.
How we treat sales claims
Claims from sellers are reported as claims, never as fact. We don’t name a company when we question one, because these lines are repeated widely and singling out one firm would be unfair. Some we have checked, as of 5 November 2026:
- “Pennsylvania capped application fees at $20.” Act 67 of 2026 says a fee must be reasonably related to actual administrative expenses. The $20 figure was struck before passage, so the act sets no dollar cap.
- “Squatters get rights after 30 days.” None of the California, Texas or Florida statutes we read gives that to someone who simply walks in. California Code Civ. Proc. 325 asks for five years and payment of the taxes, and Florida Stat. 95.18 for seven years and more. See squatters rights.
- “24 hours’ notice to enter, everywhere.” Arizona says at least two days. Virginia says 72 hours for routine maintenance the tenant did not request. There is no national rule.
- “Turnover costs $1,000 to $5,000.” You may see figures like this on seller pages. We looked for a primary source and didn’t find one.
- “Free state-specific lease.” One pricing page we read put editing and reuse of the template in a paid plan. We report the offer as the seller’s own, and we offer no lease to copy.
Our limits
Some sources can’t be read in full, because they block access or have not been posted. As of 5 November 2026 we have not read official text for Illinois, North Carolina or Ohio, among others, so their rows say “not confirmed”. We read court rules and statutes, not every local ordinance or case. No check catches everything, so please tell us if you find a mistake. Fixes are logged on our corrections page, and our editorial policy covers the rest of how pages are made.
Before you rely on a rule here, check it with the court or your state agency, or ask a lawyer or legal aid. Deadlines in a notice or a court paper come first.
Sources on this page checked on 5 November 2026.