Is it legal to rent a apartment without telling them that the previous tenant died there?

mousey

yes there is no law that says the land lord has to tell a tenant about the previous ones.
but they do state that they have to tell you if it was used as a meth lab. because the place stil poses a threat to the next tenants health

wareagle30

if its renting an apartment they are under no obligation to disclose the previous tenants situations.

they are only obligated to give info pertaining to structural problems, nuisances (ie loud trains, if theres a firehouse etc) & if there are any health risks that can be assumed.

if you were buying the property the only disclosures woud pertain to strucural problem the last owner knew of. thats why if you see a bank owned property normally you see "no disclosures" on the listing. thats because the present owner the bank can only attest to issues sisnce they owned it.

disclosures ONLY pertain to the last owner.

**to answer the question of if a death should be disclosed**

answer is, it should be disclosed ethically but not required by law. the term is "stigmatised property". there is some case law as to if a realitor with prior knowledge or info about the house should disclose the info but the flip side of the argument is the liability the realitor would be opened up too.

typically there are 2 realitors involved, one for the buyer and one for the seller. the agent for the buyer should ethically have done the due dillingence to reasearch the property for the buyer. the sellers agent has no obligation to disclose if a property is "stigmatized".

Sas

They are under no obligation to disclose why the apartment is available for rent. In this case telling you could almost be against the families privacy which is protected. However i greatly emphathise with anyone in this situation as i would not live in an apartment where the previous tenant had died, especially from suicide.
Its always good to get to know the neighbours before signing a contract. Ask them what the area is like etc and then work into the conversation why the last tenant left.

redvelvetflames4ever

No law, but this is an interesting one. I actually decided to research this a bit. If you inquire of a landlord or if you are purchasing a new home has anyone died there or if there has ever been complaints of paranormal activity and they say "no" but they were fully aware someone had died on the premise or there is paranormal activity... Well, you can break your lease and be reimbursed your security deposit. New homebuyer. Can sue the Real Estate firm. It falls under "disclosure." Although this isn't something you will see or is written in your normal lease, etc.... You can always include it. I'm disgustingly superstitious no way in hell I wouldn't include this for any place I purchase or rent.

Expert Realtor

Yes it is, because dying a natural death is protected under Americans with Disabilities Act, and it's actually illegal for them to disclose it, even if they died from AIDS.

If this is the case, then you have NO LEGAL RECOURSE to sue or break the lease, EVEN if you asked and they lie, it doesn't matter....b/c either way they can't disclose it.

On the flip side, some states, however, DO require a landlord (or Realtor) to disclose if someone was murdered...that isn't a natural death, and therefore, not protected under the ADA.

Some states require full disclosure, some states only allow the information to be passed if a perspective tenant/owner asked, but are not obligated to volunteer the information.

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