This webpage is dedicated to explaining the issues that Kansas tenants might face, as well as their legal rights before, during and after the tenancy. While this webpage is focused on non-federal housing, similar information concerning federal housing can be found here.
Additionally, Kansas Legal Services has prepared up-to-date legal forms and resources to support tenants.
Here is a helpful pamphlet prepared by the Kansas Bar Association with education about your legal rights in eviction.
Watch a short video about what you need to know when moving into a new place.
Your lease is an agreement to rent between you (the tenant or renter) and the landlord. This agreement lays out the terms of the contract between you and your landlord. It sets the ground rules for your tenancy.
Whenever you have a dispute with your landlord, check your lease to find out whether the dispute is addressed there. Usually, disputes with your landlord will be addressed by the lease. If not, the law fills in the gaps.
Multiple tenants may be listed on the same lease agreement, but if your co-tenant fails to pay or moves out before the lease, then you will still be obligated to make full rent payments.
A separate written agreement among co-tenants can help avoid such issues from coming up and help address them if they do.
Always keep a copy of your lease!
When you sign your lease, your landlord can require a security deposit. This deposit provides security to your landlord in case you damage the property during your tenancy – but be sure to read your lease for the specifics.
The amount your landlord can charge for a security deposit depends on what type of place you are renting.
If your unit is unfurnished, the landlord can only ask for up to one month’s rent.
If your unit is furnished, the landlord can ask for up to one-and-a-half month’s rent.
Use this guided interview to help you create a legal document that you can file in Small Claims Court for the return of your security deposit. By clicking HERE, you will be taken through a series of questions that will fill out the form you need for your situation.
If you have a pet, your landlord can require an additional deposit that amounts to one-half month’s rent.
But if you have a certified service or assistance animal, federal law prohibits your landlord from charging an additional deposit for your service or assistance animal.
You are still responsible for any damage caused by your animal, even though your landlord cannot charge an up-front deposit.
You should have a move-in inspection within 5 days after your lease starts. During this inspection, you and your landlord go through the property to identify and document any damages you see.
After both you and your landlord examine the property for damages, you will both sign a document listing all of those damages.
If the landlord promises to fix any of the problems you find during your inspection, make sure you get this promise in writing! Even if the promise is via text or email, it is better to have those promises recorded.
Keep a copy of the move-in inspection list with your lease. This document could be incredibly important upon moving-out. When you move out, the landlord will again examine the property and identify any damages.
Unless you can prove those damages were there before you moved in, your landlord will probably take the cost out of your security deposit.
Pictures can help supplement your move-in inspection list, but please make sure you have a copy of the list as well.
If your landlord will not do an inspection with you, go ahead and do one yourself. Be sure to complete the inspection within 5 days of moving in. A sample form can be found at rental property inventory & condition form.
Once completed, send a copy directly to your landlord.
Watch a short video about your rights and responsibilities as a tenant.
Your landlord is responsible for providing livable conditions. This usually includes things like running water, plumbing, heat, electricity and other similar essentials. Whether your landlord is responsible for less significant issues is determined by the lease – be sure to keep a copy!
As tenant, you are obligated to pay your landlord monthly rent. This obligation to pay rent is separate and distinct from your landlord’s obligation to provide a livable property. In other words, if you withhold rent because your residence has serious maintenance or utility problems, your landlord can still try to evict you for nonpayment of rent.
Further, the landlord is not responsible for damage you cause to the property or any damage caused by your family, guests or pets. For example, if your water is shut off because you were unable to pay for utilities, the landlord is not at fault. As another example, if your sewer backs up, the landlord would be responsible for maintenance – though if you caused the problem, your landlord can require you to pay for the repairs.
Landlords are obligated to provide maintenance and repair conditions that make the property unlivable. Your landlord might also promise to provide maintenance for other issues, but that will be addressed by your lease.
If your house, duplex or apartment needs maintenance, prepare a list of repairs that need to be made. Then, send that list of repairs to your landlord, with a request that your landlord make the repairs by a certain date. It is always best to make these maintenance requests in writing.
As tenant, you may also make the repairs yourself, but only if you sign a separate agreement with your landlord to undertake the repairs. The cost of the repairs can be taken out of your next rent payment (or some other adequate compensation). Notably, if work must be completed to comply with building codes, the landlord should make those repairs rather than the tenant.
Sometimes, your landlord may not provide livable conditions. Even after you provide them a specific list of needed repairs, they may fail or refuse to make repairs, rendering your home unlivable.
In these circumstances, you can sue your landlord or terminate your lease. But it is important that you not withhold rent before going to court or terminating your lease. If you do withhold rent – even if your home is unlivable – you could have trouble collecting back rent or pursuing your counterclaims. Instead, we recommend checking with your local housing code inspector (if one exists), before choosing one of the options below.
Before anything else, you should check with your local housing authority, if one exists. In many jurisdictions, the city or county has inspection authority to enforce their housing and building codes. If you can make contact with them, they might be able to help pressure your landlord into making repairs.
You may be able to terminate your lease. To do so, you must give your landlord 30 days’ notice that you intend to terminate your lease agreement because of the unlivable conditions in your residence. Also, the termination date has to fall on a periodic rent-paying date, i.e., if you usually pay rent on the first of the month, your termination date has to be the first of the month – and also give 30 days’ notice.
Make sure you give your landlord a written notice and that you keep a copy for your records. Once your landlord receives that notice, they have 14 days to begin repairs, otherwise the lease terminates on the date you specified.
You also may be able to sue your landlord. If your residence is unlivable, you may bring a lawsuit against your landlord to correct the unlivable conditions and bring your residence into compliance with your lease.
You can also recover any damages you have sustained, including harm you suffered from the unlivable conditions as well as rent that you paid to the landlord but should not have had to pay because of the unlivable conditions.
The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in the sale or rental of housing. This means your landlord cannot discriminate against your or other tenants on the basis of race, gender, religion, familial status, disability or ethnicity. For more in-depth information, please check out this link.
For tenants with disabilities, the landlord must provide reasonable accommodations. This means that your landlord should not ask discriminatory questions upon application and definitely should not deny housing merely because a prospective tenant has a disability.
It also means your landlord should provide reasonable accommodations to tenants with disabilities in terms of the rules and regulations the landlord sets as well as the practices implemented and services provided. So long as a request for reasonable accommodation is not “unduly burdensome,” your landlord must grant that request under federal law.
But even under the Fair Housing Act, your landlord can consider things such as criminal history, credit rating and financial stability when deciding whether to rent to the prospective tenant.
If you believe you have suffered discrimination when attempting to buy or rent a residence, you can file your fair housing complaint online with the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development at this link. You may also find resources and support with the Kansas Human Right Commission at this link.
Your landlord has a right to enter the property that you rent from them. Normally, your landlord can only enter after giving you reasonable notice (often 24 hours), and entry into the residence should occur during reasonable hours (not too early or too late in the day).
If your landlord enters your residence without providing you notice – and assuming there was no emergency – you should submit a written demand to your landlord that they not enter without ensuring you were given notice.
In the case of emergency, your landlord can enter your residence any time and without notice.
Because your landlord has certain rights to enter your residence, it is important to make sure they have updated contact information for you in case you are not home when they need to enter. Further, your landlord may be entering your residence to conduct maintenance or even address pests, so it is important that you tell your landlord whether you have any pets and what sensitivities they may have.
Your landlord is allowed to implement rules and regulations for the residence (and any surrounding property they own or manage). These rules and regulations should be listed in or attached to your lease. Be sure to read them carefully before agreeing to the lease.
There may be rules and regulations – such as no pets or no noise after certain hours – that will be difficult for you to follow depending on your circumstances. Reviewing the rules and regulations before signing the lease agreement can be crucial to avoiding problems with your tenancy.
Any rules and regulations implemented by the landlord must be applied equally to all tenants.
Further, the rules and regulations should be geared toward providing a benefit to the tenant’s welfare or protecting the landlord’s property. In other words, the tenant must follow any rules and regulations that are fair, reasonable and provided to the tenant when the tenant enters into the lease agreement.
Your landlord can also change the rules and regulations that apply to your tenancy after you sign the lease agreement, but your landlord must give you reasonable notice of the change. This notice could include placing a written document in a common area or taping it to your front door.
Always check with your landlord before allowing someone else to move in with you who was not on the lease agreement.
If someone moves in with you, and the landlord does not know it, you might be in violation of the lease agreement. In such circumstances, your landlord can probably begin the eviction process.
If you want to sub-lease your house, duplex or apartment to someone else, you should read your lease agreement carefully. Some leases will completely prohibit sub-leasing the property, while others will set guidelines for how to do so, such as written consent from the landlord.
Unfortunately, our homes can be struck by fire, flood, tornado or some other natural disaster.
When a natural disaster renders your home unlivable – either by destroying it completely or substantially impairing your ability to live there – you do not have to stay there. You also have the option of terminating your lease if you are unable to return.
The tenant must notify the landlord in writing that they are terminating the lease, and they should keep a copy of the notice. Here is a form for this.
