Memphis renters said they’ve experienced retaliation from their landlords after reporting housing problems, continuing a pattern monitored by the Memphis Public Interest Law Center.
A report entitled, “Haunted Housing: The Reality of Being A Renter In Memphis,” from the Memphis Public Interest Law Center (MPILC) found that nine out of 10 renters interviewed experienced issues with their homes. However, half of renters said they received threats or eviction notices after reporting the issues.
“Nearly every renter who encountered a problem notified their landlord as the law requires,” MPILC said. “Fewer than one in 10 renters who reported problems to their landlord saw those problems fixed[.]”
State law outlines how landlords and tenants should interact when resolving housing issues. The purpose of the Tennessee Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant ACT (URLTA) is to provide guidelines while also “promoting equal protection to all parties.”
While the state has these safeguards and regulations in place, respondents reported disparaging behavior from landlords.
“[The law] is not playing out every day on the ground or in our courts,” MPILC said.
Renters must notify the landlord of pertinent problems, with 98 percent of respondents taking this step to repair their homes.
However, only 8.3 percent of participants said “this step led to the problem getting fixed.” One renter said even though they emailed and visited their [landlord’s] office they were consistently put off.
“While most requests or repairs were ignored, some requests were met with something worse: a response designed to dissuade them from requesting again,” the report said.
Researchers went on to say that renters who have pursued legal action against landlords for failure to provide a “fit and habitable” property or “supply essential services” faced eviction “and/or monetary damages against them.
Renters also reached out to legal aid agencies, City of Memphis, and other groups for help in resolving landlord issues. 67 percent of participants did this, which totaled 90 instances.
“Renters only received assistance 22 percent of the time,” the report said.
Officials said tenant experiences aren’t changing, and called on the city and other elected leaders to address these challenges. Though they acknowledged there are laws in place for housing disputes and other issues, they said elected bodies need to prioritize “addressing poor housing conditions.”
Renters reporters structural issues, mold, insects, and rodent infestations, plumbing issues and more; 71 percent of renters reported structural problems including damaged roofs, floors, windows, and doors.
In its 2025 edition of Haunted Housing, MPILC reported that residents stayed in “substandard conditions for extended periods of time.” They found this to be the case in their 2026 report as well.
Respondents said they lived in these environments for about 61 percent of the time they were a tenant. The average tenancy was at least two years, MPILC said.
Though 67 percent of participants moved from their affected areas, some experienced similar issues in other places.
“This suggests that substandard housing conditions may persist across multiple residences, leaving renters facing the same challenges even after relocating,” the report said.
MPILC said their findings exemplify a “recurring pattern” and called for change.
“Effective reform must make repairs easier to obtain for renters, retaliation harder to carry out by landlords, legal assistance more accessible to renters, and relocation more realistic for renters when a home cannot be made safe,” MPILC recommended.
