Tennessee Landlord-Tenant Law for DIY Landlords (2026)

Security deposits, the 10 percent late fee cap, notice periods and the detainer timeline in Tennessee, in plain English for landlords who manage their own rentals.

Last updated September 23, 2026

Tennessee runs two sets of rules at once. Most of the rights and deadlines landlords read about online come from the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, and that act applies in only part of the state. Which county your rental sits in changes your notice periods, your late fee limit and your deposit duties.

Here is what a small Tennessee landlord has to get right, with the code section behind each rule.

Which rulebook you are under

The URLTA applies only in counties with a population over 75,000 according to the 2010 federal census (T.C.A. § 66-28-102). That covers the metro counties, Davidson, Shelby, Knox, Hamilton and Rutherford among them, plus a number of mid-sized ones.

In a URLTA county, the act preempts the field. Cities and counties there cannot add their own landlord-tenant rules on top (§ 66-28-102).

In every other county, your lease does most of the work, and the notice periods come from § 66-7-109 instead. Both groups use the same eviction courts and the same detainer statute.

Security deposits

There is no cap. Tennessee sets no maximum deposit. The market and your lease decide the number.

Hold it in a separate account. If you take a deposit before occupancy, it goes into an account used only for deposits at a bank or lending institution regulated by the state or the federal government (§ 66-28-301(a)).

Tell the tenant where that account is. You have to disclose the location of the account at lease signing. The account number stays private (§ 66-28-301(h)).

Offer the move-out inspection. Within five days of getting the tenant's notice to vacate, tell the tenant in writing that they may be present at a move-out inspection. If they ask for one, it happens on the day they vacate or within four days after. You both sign a list of the damage and the estimated cost of each repair (§ 66-28-301(b)).

Skipping either step costs you the whole deposit. No separate account and no signed damage list means you keep none of it (§ 66-28-301(c)).

You can apply it to unpaid rent. Deposits cover rent and other money the tenant owes under the agreement (§ 66-28-301(e)).

Damage you find later still counts. Charges for physical damage found after the inspection stick if you find it within 30 days of the tenant moving out, or within seven days of a new tenant moving in, whichever comes first (§ 66-28-301(g)).

The 60-day rule on unclaimed money. If a tenant leaves owing nothing and has a refund coming, you notify them. Sixty days of silence and you may take the money out of the account and keep it (§ 66-28-301(f)).

One gap worth naming. The statute never sets a flat number of days to hand the balance back. Pick a deadline, put it in your lease, and pay out fast. Thirty days is the standard most Tennessee landlords use.

Late fees and the grace period

Five days, then 10 percent. In URLTA counties you get a five-day grace period running from the day rent was due, and the fee cannot exceed 10 percent of the rent past due (§ 66-28-201(d)).

Sundays and holidays extend it. If day five lands on a Sunday or a legal holiday, no fee applies if the rent arrives the next business day (§ 66-28-201(d)).

Outside URLTA counties there is no statutory cap and no statutory grace period. Your lease sets both. Keep the fee in the same range a URLTA county allows and a judge is far less likely to strike it.

Rent increases and rent control

Local governments in Tennessee cannot pass rent control on private residential or commercial property (§ 66-35-102). Your lease is the only limit on an increase. Raise rent at renewal, or with 30 days' written notice on a month-to-month.

Entering the unit

Tennessee has no across-the-board 24-hour entry notice. Section 66-28-403 says the tenant cannot unreasonably refuse entry for inspections, repairs and showings, and that you cannot use access to harass. You may enter without consent in an emergency.

The one hard notice rule sits at the end of the tenancy. To show the unit to prospective tenants in the last 30 days, your rental agreement has to allow it and you owe at least 24 hours' notice (§ 66-28-403(e)).

Write a 24-hour notice term into every lease anyway. It removes the argument.

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

In a URLTA county, either side ends a month-to-month with 30 days' written notice before the periodic rental date. Week to week takes 10 days (§ 66-28-512).

In other counties, § 66-7-109 sets the notice, 14 days for nonpayment or for damage beyond normal wear, and 30 days for other lease defaults.

When rent isn't paid

In a URLTA county, you deliver written notice saying that if the rent is not paid within 14 days of receipt, the rental agreement terminates. Pay inside that window and the default is cured (§ 66-28-505).

Two wrinkles in the same section. If the same breach comes back within six months, you may terminate on seven days' written notice. And a tenant who waived notice in the rental agreement can face a detainer warrant filed the moment rent goes unpaid (§ 66-28-505).

Outside URLTA counties, the nonpayment notice is 14 days under § 66-7-109.

The detainer (eviction) process

File. You file a detainer warrant with the general sessions court for the county where the property sits (§ 29-18-107).
Service and trial. The officer serving the warrant sets the trial date, and it cannot be less than six days from the date of service (§ 29-18-117).
Appeal window. A losing tenant has 10 days to appeal to circuit court (§ 29-18-128).
Writ of possession. No writ issues until 10 days have passed from the judgment (§ 29-18-126).

Two rules to stay far away from. Locking a tenant out or cutting off utilities to force them out lets the tenant recover possession or terminate the lease, plus actual damages, punitive damages and attorney fees (§ 66-28-504). And raising rent, cutting services or filing for possession after a tenant complains about code violations counts as retaliation (§ 66-28-514).

Repairs and habitability

In URLTA counties you have to comply with building and housing codes that materially affect health and safety, keep the unit fit and habitable, and keep common areas clean and safe (§ 66-28-304).

You owe the tenant a written disclosure at move-in naming the agent who manages the property, the person who accepts service of process for the owner, and a maintenance phone number, email address or online portal. The portal option came in with a 2024 amendment (§ 66-28-302).

The short version

URLTA applies in counties over 75,000 people, 2010 census
No deposit cap, but a separate deposit account and a signed damage list, or you keep nothing
Five-day grace period and a 10 percent late fee cap in URLTA counties
No rent control anywhere in Tennessee
30 days' notice to end a month-to-month, 10 days for week to week
14 days' written notice for nonpayment
Trial no sooner than six days after service, writ no sooner than 10 days after judgment

Let Taz handle the paperwork

Taz is an AI property manager for landlords who would rather not live in the code books. It tracks deposit deadlines, sends rent reminders, takes maintenance requests day and night, and keeps the records a Tennessee general sessions judge would ask for. See how Taz works.

Where this guide says a state has no rule on something, that means we found no statute setting one, which is not the same as none existing. Local ordinances and court practice can add requirements. Confirm anything you plan to rely on.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Laws change, and your county may sit outside the URLTA. Talk to a Tennessee attorney before acting on a specific situation. Last checked September 2026.