Chart: State-by-State Anti-Retaliation Statutes
It is illegal in most states for a landlord to retaliate against a tenant for exercising a legal right. Many statutes, for instance, prohibit a landlord from increasing a tenant's rent or evicting a tenant as retaliation. Anti-retaliation statutes protect a renter's legal right to do the following:
- File a complaint with a government agency or with the landlord about conditions related to the health or safety of the rental unit
- File a complaint with a government agency or file a lawsuit about discriminatory housing practices
- Participate in political or union activity
Below is a list of states with anti-retaliation statutes.
State | Statute |
Alabama | |
Alaska | |
Arizona | Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. 33-1381 |
Arkansas | Ark. Code Ann. 20-27-608 |
California | |
Colorado | No statute |
Connecticut | Conn. Gen. Stat. 47a-20, 47a-33 |
Delaware | Del. Code Ann. tit. 25, 5516 |
District of Columbia | D.C. Code 42-3505.02 |
Florida | Fla. Stat. Ann. 83.64 |
Georgia | No statute |
Hawaii | |
Idaho | No statute |
Illinois | |
Indiana | No statute |
Iowa | Iowa Code Ann. 562A.36 |
Kansas | Kan. Stat. Ann. 58-2572 |
Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. 383.705 |
Louisiana | No statute |
Maine | 4 Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 14, 6001(3)(4) |
Maryland | Md. Code Ann. [Real Prop.] 8-208.1 1 |
Massachusetts | Mass. Ann. Laws ch. 239, 2A; ch. 186, 18 |
Michigan | Mich. Comp. Laws 600.5720 |
Minnesota | Minn. Stat. Ann. 504B.441, 504B.285 |
Mississippi | Miss. Code Ann. 89-8-17 |
Missouri | No statute |
Montana | Mont. Code Ann. 70-24-431 |
Nebraska | Neb. Rev. Stat. 76-1439 |
Nevada | Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. 118A.510 |
New Hampshire | N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. 540:13-a, 540:13-b |
New Jersey | N.J. Stat. Ann. 2A:42-10.10, 2A:42-10.12 2 |
New Mexico | N.M. Stat. Ann. 47-8-39 |
New York | |
North Carolina | N.C. Gen. Stat. 42-37.1 |
North Dakota | No statute |
Ohio | Ohio Rev. Code Ann. 5321.02 |
Oklahoma | No statute |
Oregon | Or. Rev. Stat. 90.385 |
Pennsylvania | 68 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. 250.205, 399.11 |
Rhode Island | R.I. Gen. Laws Ann. 34-20-10, 34-20-11 |
South Carolina | S.C. Code Ann. 27-40-910 |
South Dakota | S.D. Cod. Laws Ann. 43-32-27, 43-32-28 |
Tennessee | Tenn. Code Ann. 66-28-514, 68-111-105 |
Texas | |
Utah | Building Monitoring Sys. v. Paxton,905 P.2d 1215 (Utah 1995) |
Vermont | Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 9, 4465 |
Virginia | Va. Code Ann. 55-248.39 |
Washington | Wash. Rev. Code 59.18.240, 59.18.250 |
West Virginia | Imperial Colliery Co. v. Fout, 373 S.E.2d 489 (1988) |
Wisconsin | Wis. Stat. 704.45 |
Wyoming | No statute |