Tennessee: Rent Increase Notice Requirements

Tennessee's state-law rule

Tennessee has no statute that sets a statewide rent-increase notice period, an
amount cap, or a once-a-year limit for an ordinary residential tenancy. The lease
supplies the practical state-law terms. Rent is one of the "terms and conditions"
the landlord and tenant put in the rental agreement under Tenn. Code
§ 66-28-201(a), so during a fixed lease term the rent the parties agreed to
controls, and no Tennessee statute lets a landlord change it unilaterally before
the term ends.

Which statute governs depends on the county. The Uniform Residential Landlord and
Tenant Act (URLTA) "applies only in counties having a population of more than
seventy-five thousand (75,000)" (§ 66-28-102(a)) — Tennessee's metro counties,
where most renters live. In the smaller counties the URLTA does not apply and
common law and the lease govern the tenancy. Either way, Tennessee sets no
rent-increase notice or cap.

For a tenancy with no fixed end date in a covered county, the URLTA sets how the
arrangement is ended rather than how rent is raised. Under § 66-28-512, a
month-to-month tenancy can be terminated by either side on at least 30 days'
written notice before the periodic rental date, and a week-to-week tenancy on at
least 10 days' notice.

What trips people up

The 30-day figure is a termination interval, not a rent-increase notice. Section
66-28-512 measures the notice needed to end a periodic tenancy; it does not
create a separate advance-notice period for a rent increase, and it does not apply
to a tenant inside a fixed-term lease. A landlord who wants to change the rent on a
month-to-month tenant in a covered county generally ends the old tenancy on 30
days' notice and offers new terms — but that lead time comes from the termination
rule, not a rent-increase statute.

Local rent control is off the table in Tennessee, in both directions. Because
there is no statewide cap, the amount of an ordinary increase is left to the lease
and the market. And a Tennessee city cannot fill that gap: § 66-35-102(a) says
a local government "shall not enact, maintain or enforce an ordinance or resolution
that would have the effect of controlling the amount of rent charged." So unlike
the usual warning that a local ordinance may add a stricter rule, in Tennessee a
local rent-control ordinance is prohibited. (A 2025-2026 bill would change that;
see below.)

No statewide cap does not let a landlord raise rent for a forbidden reason.
Section 66-28-514 bars a landlord in a covered county from retaliating "by
increasing rent or decreasing services or by bringing or threatening to bring an
action for possession" because the tenant complained to the landlord of a
§ 66-28-301 violation or used the Act's remedies. A tenant facing a retaliatory
possession action has a defense, and the landlord is not released from liability
under § 66-28-501(b). That protection turns on the landlord's motive, not the size
of an ordinary increase.

Common questions

Is a rent-control ordinance possible anywhere in Tennessee right now?

No. Section 66-35-102(a) prohibits any local government from enacting or enforcing
an ordinance that would control the amount of rent. A pending bill (HB 955 / SB
961) would repeal that ban and let localities adopt rent control, but it was
deferred to the 2027 legislative calendar and is not law.

Can my landlord raise the rent in the middle of my lease?

Not unilaterally. A fixed-term lease fixes the rent for its term; rent is a lease
term under § 66-28-201(a), and a change needs the lease to allow it or the tenant
to agree. The 30-day periodic-tenancy rule in § 66-28-512 applies only to a
month-to-month arrangement, not a lease still running its term.

I rent in a small rural county. Do these sections apply to me?

Maybe not. The URLTA sections above apply only in counties over 75,000 in
population (§ 66-28-102(a)); in a smaller county, common law and your lease govern
the notice, and a local attorney can tell you what they require. The statewide ban
on local rent control still applies everywhere.

Statutes and sources

• Tenn. Code § 66-35-102(a): local governments may not enact, maintain, or
  enforce an ordinance controlling the amount of rent (statewide ban on local rent
  control) —
  official code mirror
  (accessed July 17, 2026).
• Tenn. Code § 66-28-514: prohibition on retaliatory conduct, including a
  retaliatory rent increase, and the tenant's defense —
  official code mirror
  (accessed July 17, 2026).
• Tenn. Code § 66-28-512: written termination notice for periodic tenancies (30
  days month-to-month, 10 days week-to-week) and holdover remedies —
  official code mirror
  (accessed July 17, 2026).
• Tenn. Code § 66-28-201(a): rent is a term of the rental agreement the parties
  set —
  official code mirror
  (accessed July 17, 2026).
• Tenn. Code § 66-28-102: the URLTA applies only in counties over 75,000 in
  population —
  official code mirror
  (accessed July 17, 2026).