Tennessee Retaliation Law: What Counts & the Presumption Window (2026)

What counts as retaliation, and the window where the law presumes it

At a glance

• Protection window: No statutory presumption window
• Governing authority: Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-514

Who this covers — and who it does not

This page covers landlord retaliation in Tennessee — what a landlord may not do after you exercise a protected right.

It does not cover commercial leases, or conduct outside the protected window described below.

What the law prohibits

Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-514 — 房东不得因租客 (1) 向房东投诉违反 66-28-301（押金）或 (2) 行使本章救济而报复（涨租、减服务、提起或威胁提起占有之诉）。

⚠️ 保护范围**远窄于多数州**：仅覆盖「投诉押金违规」与「行使本章救济」两类，**不含**向政府机关投诉、租客组织等。且仅 URLTA 县适用。

Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-514 ↗

The protection window

Tennessee does not set a statutory presumption window. Whether an action counts as retaliation depends on the facts rather than a fixed clock.

田纳西州法**无固定推定窗口**：66-28-514 无「6 个月推定」条款。二手站宣称的「6 个月推定」系编造。举证责任由主张报复的租客承担。

Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-514 ↗

Protected activities

What a landlord may not do

Burden of proof

无成文举证责任倒置；主张报复的租客须证明房东行为因受保护活动而起。

Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-514 ↗

Remedies

Exemptions and limits

66-28-514(b)：房东在下列情形仍可提起占有之诉——违规主要因租客/住户缺乏合理注意所致；租客欠租；合规需改建/拆除致租客无法使用。

Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-514(b) ↗

Sources and how to verify them

Every figure on this page comes from the official text or a state court opinion, not from a summary. The table below lists each provision used and the date it was last checked.

Statute	Last verified	Source
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-514	2026-10-16	official text ↗
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-514(a)(1)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-514(a)(2)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-514(a)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-514(b)	2026-10-16	official text ↗

Where the official text and a secondary summary disagree, this page follows the official text and says so. Where a provision admits of more than one reading, that is flagged rather than smoothed over.

When you need a lawyer instead of a tool

A self-help guide is the right starting point for understanding your position. Get legal help if:

• You have received an eviction notice — the timeline is now court-driven
• The dispute involves discrimination, unsafe conditions or retaliation
• Your landlord has filed anything in court already
• You are unsure whether a local ordinance changes the state rule

Local legal aid organisations and tenant unions offer free help for qualifying cases. They are independent of this site — we list them because they are the right place to go, not because they link here.

More Tennessee guides

Tennessee Security Deposit Return · Tennessee Security Deposit Rules · Tennessee Eviction Process · Tennessee Rent Increase Rules · Tennessee Repairs & Habitability

→ All Tennessee tenant rights topics

Common questions