Nashville tenant screening & landlord laws

As a quick state baseline: Tennessee generally has no statewide cap on tenant screening or application fees; no state law restricting use of criminal history in tenant screening beyond general Fair Housing Act principles; no source-of-income protected class under the state's Human Rights Act housing provisions; no statutory cap on security deposit amounts, though deposits generally must be escrowed with specific inspection and disclosure procedures; and, in URLTA counties like Davidson, no room for local rent control because the state statute occupies the field. Details on each are below.

This is the key fact for Nashville: Tennessee's URLTA generally applies only in counties with a population of more than 75,000, according to the 2010 federal census. Davidson County's population is well over that threshold, so URLTA generally applies fully to Nashville. More importantly, the same statute generally provides that in counties where URLTA applies, it "occupies and preempts the entire field of legislation concerning the regulation of landlords and tenants," and the local governing body "shall not enact or enforce regulations that conflict with, or are an addition to" URLTA. In practical terms, this generally means the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County cannot layer its own tenant-screening, source-of-income, or landlord-obligation ordinances on top of the state statute — Nashville's rules are, by design, essentially the state's rules.

Nashville's local government is the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County — a consolidated city-county government, so there is generally no separate surrounding "Davidson County" government whose rules could diverge from the city's. On top of that structural point, URLTA's preemption clause discussed above independently forecloses a distinct county layer of landlord-tenant regulation for any URLTA county, including Davidson. Tennessee counties are organized as counties rather than New England-style townships, so the "township" framing generally doesn't apply here at all.

Does Nashville have its own tenant screening or landlord-tenant ordinance separate from Tennessee state law?

Generally, no. Tennessee's URLTA applies fully in Davidson County (population well over the statute's 75,000 threshold) and generally preempts Metro Nashville from enacting additional or conflicting landlord-tenant regulations.

Do Nashville landlords have to accept housing choice vouchers?

Neither state law nor Nashville ordinance requires this.

Is there a cap on security deposits in Nashville?

Tennessee law generally does not cap the dollar amount, but it does generally require deposits to be held in a dedicated escrow account with specific inspection and dispute procedures.

Why does URLTA matter so much for Nashville specifically?

Because URLTA only applies in Tennessee counties above a 75,000-population threshold (per the 2010 census), smaller Tennessee counties may fall outside its detailed statutory framework, while Davidson County — home to Nashville — is squarely covered and, notably, cannot add its own local layer on top.

Checkr can help Nashville landlords and property managers build a tenant screening process aligned with Tennessee's URLTA framework and FCRA's adverse action requirements. Get started with Checkr to streamline compliant screening.

The resources and information provided here are for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Always consult your own counsel for up-to-date legal advice and guidance related to your practices, needs, and compliance with applicable laws.