Overview of Landlord-Tenant Laws in Delaware

Both landlords and tenants should be able to deal with many legal questions and problems without a lawyer, once they understand the basics of state law. This overview of key landlord-tenant laws in Delaware will get you started.

Required Landlord Disclosures in Delaware

Under Delaware law, landlords must disclose specific information to tenants (usually in the lease or rental agreement), such as the identity of anyone authorized to act on the landlord's behalf and a summary of the landlord-tenant law. For details, see Delaware Required Landlord Disclosures.

Delaware Security Deposit Limit and Return

Delaware state law limits how much a landlord can charge for a security deposit on leases of at least one year (one month's rent, though there is no limit in month-to-month tenancies), when it must be returned (within 20 days after a tenant moves), and sets other restrictions on deposits. See Delaware Security Deposit Limits and Deadlines for more on the subject.

Small Claims Lawsuits in Delaware

Tenants can sue landlords in Justice of the Peace Court for the return of their deposit, up to a dollar amount of $15,000. See Filing a Security Deposit Lawsuit in Delaware Justice of the Peace Court for advice for tenants filing suit. Landlords defending a security deposit lawsuit should check out Delaware Landlord's Guide to Security Deposit Disputes in Justice of the Peace Court.

Delaware Late Fees and Other Rent Rules

State law regulates several rent-related issues, including late fees, the amount of notice (at least 60 days in Delaware for month-to-month rental agreements) landlords must give tenants to raise the rent, and how much time (five days in Delaware) a tenant has to pay rent or move before a landlord can file for eviction. For details, see Delaware Late Fees, Termination for Nonpayment of Rent, and Other Rent Rules.

Tenant Rights to Withhold Rent in Delaware

Tenants may withhold rent or exercise the right to "repair and deduct" if a landlord fails to take care of important repairs, such as a broken heater. For specifics, see Delaware Tenant Rights to Withhold Rent or "Repair and Deduct".

Delaware Termination and Eviction Rules

State laws specify when and how a landlord may terminate a tenancy. For example, a landlord may give a Delaware tenant who has violated a lease provision multiple times within a 12 month period an unconditional quit notice that gives the tenant seven days to move out before the landlord can file for eviction. See State Laws on Unconditional Quit Terminations and State Laws on Termination for Violation of Lease for details on these types of termination notices in Delaware.

Landlord Access to Rental Property, Tenant Protection Against Retaliation, and Other State Laws in Delaware

Several other landlord-tenant laws in Delaware affect both property owners and renters, including:

• restrictions on landlord's right to access rental property (Delaware landlords must provide two days' notice of entry)
• tenant protections against landlord retaliation for tenant exercising a legal right, such as complaining about an unsafe living condition (see Delaware State Laws Prohibiting Landlord Retaliation for details)
• special protections for tenants who are victims of domestic violence (see Delaware State Laws Affecting Tenants in Domestic Violence Situations)
• procedures for how landlords must handle abandoned property left behind by tenants, and
• fair housing rights (discrimination is also prohibited by federal and, often, local law—see the Housing Discrimination section of the Nolo site for details).

Where to Find Delaware Landlord-Tenant Statutes

If you want to read the text of a law itself, such as state security deposit rules, you'll find citations in many of the articles and charts included in the State Landlord-Tenant Laws section of the Nolo site. To access the statutes, go to the Delaware Laws and Legal Information section of the Nolo site and find the link to your state laws.

If you just want to browse through the Delaware landlord-tenant law, you can find state statutes at Del. Code Ann. tit. 25, § § 5101 to 5907. You can search the table of contents for the landlord-tenant statutes. Or, if you don't know the exact statute number, you can enter a keyword that is likely to be in it, such as "nonpayment of rent."

In addition to accessing state laws via Nolo's website, Delaware statutes are available in many public libraries and in most law libraries that are open to the public (typically found in a county courthouse or at the state capitol or in a publicly-funded law school).

Local Ordinances Affecting Delaware Landlords and Tenants

Cities and counties often pass local ordinances, such as health and safety standards, noise and nuisance regulations, and antidiscrimination rules that affect landlords and tenants. Many municipalities have websites —just search for the name of a particular city in Delaware and then do a search when you're on the site. For example, if you search for landlord-tenant ordinances in the City of Dover website, you'll easily find Dover's Safe Communities Ordinance.

State and Local Government on the Net and Municode are good sources for finding local governments online. Also, your local public library or office of the city attorney, mayor, or city or county manager can provide information on local ordinances that affect landlords and tenants in Delaware.

Federal Landlord-Tenant Laws and Regulations

While most landlords and tenants will primarily be concerned with state law in Delaware, several federal laws come into play. Congress has enacted laws, and federal agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), have adopted regulations, covering discrimination and landlord responsibilities to disclose environmental health hazards, such as lead-based paint.

The U.S. Code is the starting place for most federal statutory research. It consists of 50 separate numbered titles, each covering a specific subject matter. Most federal regulations are published in the Code of Federal Regulations ("CFR"), also organized by subject into 50 separate titles.

To access the U.S. Code and Code of Federal Regulations online, see Nolo's Federal Law Resources page. Also, the Cornell Legal Information Institute provides the entire U.S. Code as well as the Code of Federal Regulations. Finally, check USA.gov, the official U.S. website for government information.

Nolo Resources on Legal Research and Landlord-Tenant Law

Nolo's Laws and Legal Research page includes links to state and federal laws, explains how to research and understand statutes, and provides advice on finding local ordinances and court cases, including Supreme Court cases. To go further, check out Legal Research: How to Find & Understand the Law, by Stephen Elias and the Editors of Nolo (Nolo). This nontechnical book gives easy-to-use, step-by-step instructions on how to find legal information.

You'll also find a wealth of information in the Landlords and Renters' Rights sections of the Nolo website and Nolo books, such as Every Landlord's Legal Guide and Every Tenant's Legal Guide.