Landlord & Tenant Laws in Tennessee.

Before relying on Tennessee’s URLTA deposit procedure, confirm whether the rental property is in a county where Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28 applies. Tennessee public guidance identifies specific larger counties where URLTA protections apply.

Keep the written lease, proof of the deposit payment, inspection communications, move-out photographs, and any written damage list or refund notice. In Tennessee, those documents matter both in URLTA counties and in non-URLTA lease disputes.

Many Tennessee deposit and lease-money disputes are filed in General Sessions Court, but civil jurisdiction varies by county and private act. Check the clerk for the county where the landlord or property is located.

Tennessee state agencies explain that the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act applies only in certain counties with larger populations, not statewide. A tenant should first confirm whether the rental property is in a county where URLTA applies before relying on Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28 security-deposit procedures.

In Tennessee URLTA counties, a landlord requiring a security deposit generally must place it in a separate account, offer the tenant an opportunity for a move-out inspection process, and provide the required damage listing if deductions are claimed.

In URLTA counties, a landlord is generally not entitled to retain any portion of the security deposit if the deposit was not handled in the required account and the required damage listing was not provided.

A tenant in a URLTA-covered tenancy may bring an action in circuit or general sessions court to dispute deposit deductions. Outside URLTA counties, deposit disputes are still commonly brought as contract or money claims, but the exact statutory deposit procedure is less uniform.