PlainStatute Research

The Renter Protection Index

Which states give renters the strongest hand? We scored all 50 states on the five statutory rules that decide the balance of power in a tenancy, from how much notice a rent increase takes to how fast a missed payment can become an eviction.

All 50 states scored on five statutory factors, each read from the state statute.Average protection score 51 of 100. Every input is a real field on one of our state pages, not an estimate.

The headline numbers

Each figure copies with a citation line that links back to this page.

83Strongest renter protections: Nevada

8Weakest renter protections: Wyoming

16States that cap the late fee by statute

27States that require notice before landlord entry

States ranked by protection score

Longer bars protect renters more. Tap any state for its full tenant guides.

The full dataset

Every state, most to least protective, with the rule behind each factor.

Rank	State	Score	Rent-increase notice	Eviction notice	Entry notice	Late fee	Deposit cap
1	Nevada	83	60 days	7 judicial days (weekends and holidays not counted)	1-day	5% cap	3 months
2	Delaware	83	60 days	5 days	2-day	5% cap	1 month
3	Virginia	83	30 days	14 days	3-day	10% cap	2 months
4	Hawaii	83	45 days	10 calendar days	2-day	8% cap	1 month
5	Maryland	75	60 days	10 days	None	5% cap	1 month
6	Oregon	75	90 days	10 days (or 13, depending on when the notice is served)	1-day	5% cap	No cap
7	New York	75	30 / 60 / 90 days	14 days	None	5% cap	1 month
8	Maine	75	45 days	7 days (and only after rent is already 7 days late)	1-day	4% cap	2 months
9	New Mexico	75	30 days	3 days	1-day	5% cap	1 month
10	Vermont	67	60 days	14 days	2-day	No cap	No cap
11	Washington	67	90 days	14 days	2-day	No cap	No cap
12	Colorado	67	60 days	10 days	None	5% cap	2 months
13	Rhode Island	67	60 days	5 days from mailing (and only after rent is 15 days late)	2-day	No cap	1 month
14	Massachusetts	67	30 days	14 days (with a cure right that runs to the court answer date)	None	30-day grace	1 month
15	Alabama	67	30 days	7 business days	2-day	No cap	1 month
16	Nebraska	67	30 days	7 calendar days	1-day	No cap	1 month
17	Tennessee	58	30 days	14 days in covered counties, governed by other law elsewhere	None	10% cap	No cap
18	Alaska	58	30 days	7 days	1-day	No cap	2 months
19	California	58	30 days	3 days	1-day	No cap	1 month
20	South Dakota	58	30 days	3 days as a waiting period built into the ground	1-day	No cap	1 month
21	Minnesota	58	Matches your lease notice	14 days	1-day	8% cap	No cap
22	Kentucky	50	30 days	7 days where the Act applies, otherwise set by the lease	2-day	No cap	No cap
23	New Hampshire	50	30 days	7 days	None	No cap	1 month
24	Arizona	50	30 days	5 days	2-day	No cap	1.5 months
25	Connecticut	50	45 days	3 days (after a 9-day grace period)	None	5% cap	2 months
26	Iowa	50	30 days	3 days	1-day	No cap	2 months
27	New Jersey	50	One month	None (no notice required)	1-day	5-day grace	1.5 months
28	North Carolina	50	7 days	10 days after demand (only where the lease is silent)	None	5% cap	1.5 months
29	Utah	50	15 days	3 business days	1-day	10% cap	No cap
30	Georgia	42	60 days	3 business days	None	No cap	2 months
31	Michigan	42	One month	7 days	None	No cap	1.5 months
32	Florida	42	30 days	3 days	1-day	No cap	No cap
33	Kansas	42	30 days	3 days (5 if mailed)	None	No cap	1 month
34	Montana	42	30 days	3 days	1-day	No cap	No cap
35	North Dakota	42	One calendar month	3 days (after rent is already 3 days late)	None	No cap	1 month
36	Ohio	42	30 days	3 days	1-day	No cap	No cap
37	Oklahoma	42	30 days	5 days	1-day	No cap	No cap
38	South Carolina	42	30 days	5 days, or none where the lease carries the bold-type clause	1-day	No cap	No cap
39	Texas	42	One month	3 days (default)	None	12% cap	No cap
40	Indiana	33	One month	10 days (default, the lease can change it)	None	No cap	No cap
41	Arkansas	33	30 days	5 days	None	No cap	2 months
42	Pennsylvania	33	15 days	10 days	None	No cap	2 months
43	Idaho	25	30 days	3 days	None	No cap	No cap
44	Illinois	25	30 days	5 days	None	No cap	No cap
45	Mississippi	25	30 days	3 days	None	No cap	No cap
46	Missouri	25	One month	None set by statute	None	No cap	2 months
47	Wisconsin	25	28 days	5 or 14, at the landlord election	12h	No cap	No cap
48	West Virginia	17	One month	None (no pre-filing notice)	None	No cap	No cap
49	Louisiana	17	10 days	5 days, or none where the lease waives notice	None	No cap	No cap
50	Wyoming	8	Set by your lease	3 days	None	No cap	No cap

Methodology

This index is an original dataset, computed at build time from five of our own 50-state tenant pages. We score these five rules because each is covered for every state and each is a field a renter can actually check. Every input is a real statutory figure. The point weights are our editorial model, and we publish them here so you can judge them.

Each state earns points on five factors, for a raw total out of 12, then normalized to a 0 to 100 score.

Rent-increase notice, up to 3 points. Sixty days or more earns 3, at least 30 days earns 2, any shorter statutory notice earns 1, and a state that leaves it to the lease earns 0.

Eviction nonpayment notice, up to 3 points. Fourteen days or more before an eviction for nonpayment can be filed earns 3, at least 7 days earns 2, at least 3 days earns 1, and no notice earns 0.

Entry notice, up to 2 points. A required advance notice of 24 hours or more earns 2, any shorter required notice earns 1, and no required notice earns 0.

Late-fee cap, up to 2 points. A statutory cap on the late fee, whether a percentage or a flat dollar limit, earns 2. A grace period without a cap earns 1, and neither earns 0.

Deposit cap, up to 2 points. A cap of one month earns 2, a higher cap earns 1, and no statutory cap earns 0. For the deposit rule scored on its own five ways, see the companion Tenant Protection Index.

A higher score means the statute leans further toward the tenant on these five rules. It is not a measure of a state overall, and it does not cover every housing protection. We leave the warranty of habitability and repair-and-deduct out of the score because both are categorical, not numeric, and folding a coarse yes-or-no into the total would flatten the ranking. We publish the whole table and link every state to its full tenant guides, each cited to the statute, so you can check our work.