Mobile home utilities in Tennessee

Tennessee protects residents on utilities (in larger counties) through the URLTA's habitability duty and essential-services remedies. The information below describes how the law generally works; anyone disputing a specific charge or outage should consider consulting a licensed attorney in Tennessee.

What the statute says

Where the URLTA applies, Tenn. Code §66-28-304(a) requires the landlord to comply with health-and-safety codes and "make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition" and "keep all common areas ... in a clean and safe condition." Section 66-28-502 gives a tenant whose landlord "deliberately or negligently fails to supply essential services" the right to procure them and deduct the cost, recover damages for diminished rental value, or procure substitute housing. Section 66-28-504 bars a landlord from willfully interrupting essential services, with actual and punitive damages plus attorney's fees. The URLTA "applies only in counties having a population of more than seventy-five thousand (75,000)" (§66-28-102(a)), and there is no provision capping a utility markup.

How it works in general

In a Tennessee county over 75,000 people, the landlord has to keep the premises fit and habitable, and a resident whose essential services are cut off can procure them and deduct the cost, recover damages, or get substitute housing — and a willful service cutoff is an unlawful diminution with damages. But Tennessee doesn't cap what a park can charge for utilities or require a particular metering method, so where a park bills for utilities the written lease sets the terms, and regulated utility service and rates fall to the Tennessee Public Utility Commission. In a smaller county, the URLTA's protections don't apply, so the lease and common law govern.

Common scenarios

General examples Tennessee park residents commonly encounter:

• The premises fall into disrepair (larger county). The landlord must keep them fit and habitable (§66-28-304).
• The landlord fails to supply essential services. The resident may procure-and-deduct, recover damages, or get substitute housing (§66-28-502).
• A park threatens to cut utilities over a dispute. A willful interruption is an unlawful diminution with damages (§66-28-504).

Other authorities that may apply

The URLTA (Tenn. Code §§66-28-304, 66-28-502, 66-28-504) sets the habitability duty and essential-services remedies in larger counties; the Tennessee Public Utility Commission regulates jurisdictional utility service and rates. Because Tennessee has no dedicated park act, this guide flags the absence of a markup cap honestly. The written lease sets the billing terms.