“The number of people who are now renters in our country has skyrocketed,” says Faizah Malik, an LA-based attorney and tenant rights advocate who has worked on housing issues for almost 15 years. She’s currently the managing attorney of Public Counsel’s housing justice initiatives. “We are now a nation of renters, and over time I have seen rents become more and more unaffordable for people.” In fact, a recent report from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies found that half of all renters in the US spend over 30% of their income on rent and utilities, which is more than at any other time in history.

With more people spending a greater share of their earnings on rent, it’s essential to understand a tenant’s rights. “It’s really important for renters to get empowered and educated about what their rights are—and not be afraid to assert them,” Malik says. With the help of Malik as well as real estate attorneys in Florida, Massachusetts, and Texas, we’ve rounded up eight lesser-known rules that can help protect renters.

1. Application fees can’t be excessive

Here’s one that will benefit anybody who knows the financial sting of applying to multiple apartments at the same time. “[Many] states have different laws about maximum screening fees,” Malik says, which means a landlord can’t arbitrarily charge an exorbitant amount for an apartment application. In California, for example, the maximum fee allowed is $62.02. In New York, it’s $20, though that has to be waived if the applicant provides a copy of a background check or credit check conducted within the past 30 days. And in various states—including Colorado, Maine, and Nevada—the fee can’t exceed the actual cost of the screening. “Tenants should be sure to consult the applicable rules in their state,” Malik advises.

2. Landlords aren’t allowed to swing by unannounced

“This comes down to the tenant’s right to privacy,” Malik says, “and it’s especially important right now with the political climate surrounding immigrants in the US. It means that landlords can’t enter a home without providing notice.” Malik says a 24-hour notice is typically required, though there are some exceptions for emergencies, such as a burst pipe or gas leak. The notice should be written and provide the date, time, and reason for the visit.

3. Tenants may be able to withhold rent if a landlord doesn’t make repairs

“People have a right to habitable housing, which means the landlord has to maintain good livable conditions,” Malik says. “Tenants should not be afraid to ask for repairs. And in California, they can withhold rent if the landlord doesn’t make repairs in a reasonable amount of time.”

Before you stop paying rent because you don’t like the paint color in your kitchen, it’s important to know what type of repairs this applies to. Malik says it comes down to a repair that would affect the health and safety of the tenant, such as anything having to do with plumbing, heating, and maintaining a pest-free environment. And as for what a “reasonable amount of time” means, Malik says it depends on the circumstances. “In some cases they need to move ASAP, while other repairs are seen as less urgent.” She adds that a reasonableness requirement is often interpreted as 30 days.

In some places, however, the rules around when repairs need to be made are much more defined. “Miami Dade is very tenant-friendlyand has its own Tenant Bill of Rights, which landlords of residential units have to adhere to,” says real estate attorney Jacqueline Salcines, who is based in Coral Gables, Florida. “This includes a tenant’s right under Florida Statute 83.51 to have running water, air conditioning, and a safe and healthy rental unit—with a seven-day window for the landlord to address a required repair.” When it comes to a broken air conditioner, though, the turnaround time must be even faster—within 24 hours—due to the Sunshine State’s sometimes scorching heat. Otherwise, Salcines says, the landlord could be subject to penalties.

It’s important to check any local or state laws in your area to confirm whether renters have this right where you live and how quickly repairs need to be made.

4. During a natural disaster evacuation, you may not have to pay rent

This is especially topical after the recent wildfires in LA. “For any time that you were not in the unit because of a natural disaster evacuation or because of the resulting damage—as in, the home is not habitable—the landlord should prorate that rent,” Malik says. “This goes back to the habitability factor—California has a very specific section of its law that deals with habitability.” And though it may seem obvious, if a unit is totally destroyed, in California, the lease is terminated and the landlord must return the security deposit. The same is true in Florida, for example, where tenants may be forced out due to a hurricane. But check your state’s rules.

Additionally, you may be entitled to relocation assistance if you can’t return to your rental. That’s the case in Massachusetts, according to Joshua Krefetz, a real estate attorney at Ligris + Associates in Boston. “If the tenant’s unit is rendered uninhabitable by a fire and the tenant must relocate,” he says, “the landlord’s insurance policy for multifamily buildings must provide $750 in relocation assistance to the tenant.”

5. Security deposits have maximums

“Who has three times the rent for a security deposit?” Malik asks. In fact, unfeasible security deposits became a large problem in California, leading to legislation that limited what landlords could charge. Today, she says, the maximum a landlord in California can collect is one month’s rent (though if you have a waterbed, it can go up to 1.5 times the rent). “These kinds of regulations are important because, otherwise, an exorbitant security deposit could really limit the universe of apartments that people could get,” she says.

Other states that limit a security deposit to one month’s rent include the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and New York. Many other states have a limit of either 1.5 times or twice the monthly rent, so it’s important to review the regulations in your area.

6. Landlords have to disclose exactly why they’re withholding a security deposit

“This is something that varies from state to state, but in many, tenants have legal rights as far as disclosure about money being withheld from their security deposit,” says Ben Michael, an Austin, Texas–based attorney with Michael & Associates Criminal Defense Attorneys. That means if a landlord withholds any money from a tenant’s security deposit, they have to provide photo or video documentation of the damage that they’re using the money to fix. “They can’t simply claim ‘damage’ and keep the tenant’s security deposit without providing specific proof,” Michael says. “Also, tenants are legally permitted a walkthrough with their landlord in many states.” In short, what happened to all or part of your deposit should never be a mystery.

7. When a lease ends, you don’t necessarily have to go

In some places, such as the city of LA, the end of a lease isn’t reason alone for a landlord to make you vacate. If they want you to leave, they have to give a reason as to why they’re not extending the lease. “We want people to know that they are allowed to stay,” Malik says. “This happens a lot when a new owner acquires a building and tenants might assume they have to leave. That’s not true. You had a contractual agreement with the prior landlord for the unit, so you have an interest in staying there. You have a property right to stay there unless they have a reason to not offer you another lease.” Check the rental regulations in your own area to see if this applies to you.

8. An unlawful eviction may entitle a tenant to three times the rent

Salcines points out that there is often a minimum amount of time required for a landlord to inform a tenant about a termination of the lease. In Florida, she says, the required notice is 30 days. “This means a landlord can not terminate a lease unless they provide 30 days written notice.”

On a similar note, if a landlord were to try to push out a tenant by extreme means, there are penalties in place. She says, “Many tenants don’t know that under Florida Statute 83.67, if the landlord cuts water off, changes the locks, or performs any type of ‘self-help eviction,’ a tenant is eligible for three times the amount of rent from the landlord as a penalty for breaching this statute.” Even if you don’t live in Florida, it’s worth looking up the rules in your area so you can rest easy knowing there are protections in place.

Managing landlord disputes

Before taking any action against a landlord, it’s important to ensure you’ve read your lease and any local and state laws to determine what rights you may or may not have. “A lot of local governments and state governments provide tenant rights FAQs with information that’s more accessible so people don’t have to go read the law,” says Malik, who acknowledges that legal language isn’t always easy to decipher. Once you’ve determined that you have a legal right to enforce, it may be appropriate to call a lawyer or reach out to a tenant advocacy organization for the best way to move forward with your specific situation.

Tenant resources

USAGov, the official website for the United States federal government, offers a number of resources for tenants, including a list pro bono and low-cost legal services for people with low-to-moderate incomes. It also includes a list of legal resources for specific groups such as seniors, people with disabilities, and active military members and veterans.

Further, most states and cities have their own list of resources that address the laws and policies in their territories. For example, New York City offers a tenant resource portal for renters facing eviction as well as a tenant helpline. “In Los Angeles, we have the Stay Housed LA program to provide representation to renters facing eviction,” Malik says.

When to call a lawyer

Malik recommends calling in support as soon as you get a notice from your landlord about a possible eviction. And if you don’t have access to a lawyer, she recommends looking for groups in your area—such as Public Counsel, the organization she works with in LA—for more affordable or even free assistance in understanding your rights. “We do clinics and we partner with community organizations to do legal clinics,” she says. “If people are in a dispute with their landlord, we want them to be able to articulate a defense for themselves so hopefully they can stay in their homes.”