Tennessee Rent Increase Laws: No Cap, Local Rent Control Banned

By Steve Levine · Updated November 3, 2026

Short answer: Tennessee rent increase laws set no cap, and Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-35-102 bars local governments from controlling rent on private residential property, as Nashville’s Metro Council has acknowledged. In the 17 counties covered by the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, a month-to-month tenancy can be changed only after written notice at least 30 days before the rental date under § 66-28-512, and § 66-28-514 bars retaliatory increases.

Tennessee’s rules depend on where you live. The landlord-tenant act applies only in counties that met a population threshold, and since 2021 that list has been frozen. Renters in the remaining counties rely mostly on their lease. Because the official annotated code is not freely readable online, this guide quotes the statutes as printed in General Assembly bills and records.

Tennessee rent increase laws at a glance

Rule	Tennessee	Statute
Statewide cap	None	Tenn. Code Ann. ch. 66-28
Local rent control	Prohibited on private residential property	§ 66-35-102
Where the URLTA applies	17 counties; list frozen in 2021	§ 66-28-102 (Pub. Ch. 182 of 2021)
Month-to-month change	30 days’ written notice before the rental date	§ 66-28-512(b)
Week-to-week change	10 days’ written notice	§ 66-28-512(a)
Retaliatory increase	Barred after a repair complaint or use of URLTA remedies	§ 66-28-514(a)

Why no Tennessee city can cap rent

Section 66-35-102 prohibits local governments from enacting, maintaining or enforcing any ordinance or resolution that would have the effect of controlling the amount of rent charged for private residential property. That is how Metro Nashville described it in Resolution RS2015-1516, which asked the Davidson County delegation to amend the statute so the city could pursue affordable-housing rules.

The legislature moved the other way. A 2016 law, Public Chapter 822, extended the section to bar local zoning conditions that require a share of rental units to be kept affordable, as recited in the text of 2017’s Senate Bill 363.

The 2025-2026 attempt to allow rent control

House Bill 955, filed in February 2025, would have let a local government adopt rent control by a two-thirds vote. Its bill history shows the House Cities and Counties Subcommittee deferred it on March 18, 2026 to a January 2027 calendar. It has not become law, so the preemption stands.

Does the landlord-tenant act cover you?

The Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Title 66, Chapter 28) applies only in some counties. House Bill 2683, enacted in 2012 as Public Chapter 847, tied coverage to counties over 75,000 people in the 2010 census. Public Chapter 182 of 2021, from House Bill 716, deleted “or any subsequent federal census,” so growing counties do not join the list, and barred covered counties from adding their own landlord-tenant rules.

The Legal Aid Society’s URLTA renters booklet lists the covered counties: Anderson, Blount, Bradley, Davidson, Hamilton, Knox, Madison, Maury, Montgomery, Rutherford, Sevier, Shelby, Sullivan, Sumner, Washington, Williamson and Wilson.

Notice before a rent increase

As printed in HB 1760, the 2011 bill that became Public Chapter 272, § 66-28-512(b) lets either side end a month-to-month tenancy by written notice at least 30 days before the periodic rental date specified in the notice. Subsection (a) sets 10 days for week-to-week tenancies. Neither section mentions rent increases directly, so in practice a landlord who wants more rent must end the current terms with that notice and offer new ones.

Legal Aid Society’s booklet puts it plainly for renters without a lease: the landlord can raise the rent, but must tell you a month ahead if you pay monthly, or 10 days ahead if you pay weekly.

Leases fix the rent

If you signed a lease, the rent stated in it holds for the term unless the lease says otherwise. The same booklet gives the example of a one-year lease at $600 a month: the landlord cannot raise it until the lease ends.

Retaliatory and discriminatory increases

As printed in HB 1760, § 66-28-514(a) says a landlord “may not retaliate by increasing rent or decreasing services or by bringing or threatening to bring an action for possession” because you complained to the landlord about a violation of the landlord’s duties under § 66-28-301, or used remedies the chapter provides. Subsection (b) still allows eviction if you are behind on rent, if you or your household caused the code problem, or if code compliance requires work that would keep you out of the unit.

Two cautions. The text does not list complaints to a government agency or tenant organizing, and it sets no presumption period, so timing and written records carry the case. Also, this provision applies only in URLTA counties. Discrimination in rental terms is barred everywhere by the federal Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3604(b).

Worked example: a Chattanooga renter

Tasha rents in Chattanooga, in Hamilton County, one of the 17 URLTA counties. She is month-to-month at $1,025, due on the first. In March she sends her landlord a written request to fix a leaking water heater. On April 12 the landlord gives her written notice that rent rises to $1,225 on May 1.

Because § 66-28-512(b) requires 30 days before the periodic rental date, an April 12 notice cannot reach May 1; June 1 is the earliest rental date it supports. The timing, weeks after a written repair request, also fits the retaliation ban in § 66-28-514(a). Tasha keeps her repair letter, pays $1,025 for May, and contacts legal aid.

What to do now

Find out if your county is covered. If it is not, your lease is the main source of your rights.
Check the dates. Count back 30 days from the rental date the increase targets. The rent increase checker can help.
Look for retaliation. If you recently complained in writing about repairs, use the retaliation checker.
Negotiate. With no cap, a smaller increase in exchange for a longer lease is often the most practical outcome.
Get free help through HELP4TN, run by the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Nashville or Memphis pass rent control?

No. Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-35-102 bars local governments from controlling rent on private residential property. House Bill 955, which would have allowed it by a two-thirds local vote, was deferred in a House subcommittee in March 2026 and has not passed.

My county is not on the URLTA list. What notice do I get?

The URLTA’s 30-day rule in § 66-28-512 does not apply outside its 17 counties, so your lease terms carry most of the weight. Read the notice and renewal clauses carefully, and ask a legal aid office about the rules that apply where you live.

Does complaining to the codes department protect me from a rent hike?

The retaliation text in § 66-28-514(a) covers complaints to the landlord about its § 66-28-301 duties and use of the chapter’s remedies. To be safe, send your repair complaint to the landlord in writing as well, so the protection clearly applies.

Can a Tennessee county add its own rent-increase notice rule?

Not in the 17 URLTA counties. Public Chapter 182 of 2021 provides that, where the act applies, it occupies the whole field of landlord-tenant regulation, and county governments may not adopt rules that conflict with it or add to it.

Your next step: confirm your county against the list above, then line up your notice date against the rental date. Compare states on the rent increase laws by state hub, read our Nashville tenant rights guide if you rent in Davidson County, and see the Tennessee security deposit law before you move. This guide is general information, not legal advice; LSC’s get legal help page lists free providers.

Sources

Owed money from a settlement? Check what is open at OpenClassActions.com. Caring for someone with dementia? Find practical guides at HelpDementia.com. Working out a skin routine? Evidence-based answers at AcneAdvocate.com. Forgot the name of a movie? Identify it at FindThisMovie.com. Was your data exposed? Track active breaches at DataBreachRadar.com.