ABSTRACT
Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (URLTA) included provisions aimed at both fair treatment and decent housing. The URLTA reforms in the decent housing area tend to be limited in nature, clarifying obligations between landlords and their tenants and providing limited sums to be used in the rehabilitation of the rental unit. The Uniform Residential Landlord-Tenant Act incorporates most of the legal reforms in the area of landlord-tenant relations. The warranty expresses the societal commitment to a standard of decent housing. Many serious defects worsen with time and early remedial repair and deduct will frequently limit the damages assessable to the landlord and the economic cost of achieving an acceptable housing standard. Experience indicates that many landlords engage in maintenance programs designed to forestall resort to the act. The legislative enactment of tenant reforms depends upon the concerted lobbying of tenant groups. Security of tenure statutes addresses the most egregious and disruptive form of unfair treatment—capricious or vindictive eviction.
