AN ACT RELATING TO PROPERTY -- RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT (Requires landlords to register certain information for residential properties constructed prior to 1978 with the department of health on a statewide registry and defines which information may be viewed on a public database.)

S2893

2026 -- S 2893
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LC005269
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026
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A N A C T
RELATING TO PROPERTY -- RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT

Introduced By:
Senators Thompson, Murray, Dimitri, and Patalano

Date Introduced:
March 04, 2026

Referred To:
Senate Housing & Municipal Government
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
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SECTION 1. Section 34-18-58 of the General Laws in Chapter 34-18 entitled "Residential
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Landlord and Tenant Act" is hereby amended to read as follows:
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34-18-58. Statewide mandatory rental registry.
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(a) All landlords
who lease a residential property constructed prior to 1978
shall register
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the following information with the department of health
for the sole purposes of enforcement of
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lead hazard mitigation laws and promotion of lead safety by the department of health
:
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(1) Names of individual landlords or any business entity responsible for leasing to a tenant
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under this chapter;
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(2) An active business address, PO box, or home address;
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(3) An active email address;
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(4) An active telephone number that would reasonably facilitate communications with the
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tenant of each dwelling unit;
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(5) Any property manager, management company, or agent for service of the property,
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along with the business address
,

or
PO box,
or home address
of the property manager, management
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company, or agent and including:
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(i) An active email address; and
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(ii) An active telephone number, for each such person or legal entity, if applicable, for each
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dwelling unit; and
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(6) Information necessary to identify each dwelling unit.

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(b) All landlords who lease a residential property constructed prior to 1978 and that is not
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exempt from the requirements of chapter 128.1 of title 42 (“lead hazard mitigation”) shall, in
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addition to the requirements of subsection (a) of this section, for each dwelling unit, provide the
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department of health with a valid certificate of conformance in accordance with chapter 128.1 of
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title 42 (“lead hazard mitigation”) and regulations derived therefrom, or evidence sufficient to
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demonstrate that they are exempt from the requirement to obtain a certificate of conformance.
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(c) Contingent upon available funding, the department of health, or designee, shall create
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a publicly accessible online database containing the information obtained in accordance with
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subsections (a)
(1), (a)(5)(i), and (a)(5)(ii) and (b) of this section, but excluding subsections (a)(2),
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(a)(3), (a)(4), (a)(5),

and (b)
of this section, no later than nine (9) months following the effective
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date of this section [June 20, 2023].
The department of health shall not share the data with any other
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governmental agency.
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(d) All landlords subject to the requirements of subsections (a) and (b) of this section as of
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September 1, 2024, shall register the information required by those subsections no later than
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October 1, 2024.
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A landlord who acquires a
residential
rental property
constructed before 1978
, or begins
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leasing a rental property
that was constructed before 1978
to a new tenant
, after September 1, 2024,

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shall register the information required by subsections (a) and (b) of this section within thirty (30)
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days after the acquisition or lease to a tenant, whichever date is earlier. All landlords subject to the
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requirements of subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall, following initial registration, re-register
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by October 1 of each year in order to update any information required to comply with subsections
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(a) and (b) of this section, or to confirm that the information already supplied remains accurate.
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(e) Any person or entity subject to subsections (a) and (b) of this section who fails to
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comply with the registration provision in subsection (d) of this section, shall be subject to a civil
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fine of at least fifty dollars ($50.00) per month for failure to register the information required by
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subsection (a) of this section, or at least one hundred and twenty-five dollars ($125) per month, for
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failure to register the information required by subsection (b) of this section.
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(f) All civil penalties imposed pursuant to subsection (e) of this section shall be payable to
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the department of health. There is to be established a restricted receipt account to be known as the
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“rental registry account” which shall be a separate account within the department of health.
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Penalties received by the department pursuant to the terms of this section shall be deposited into
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the account. Monies deposited into the account shall be transferred to the department of health and
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shall be expended for the purpose of administering the provisions of this section or lead hazard
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mitigation, abatement, enforcement, or poisoning prevention. No penalties shall be levied under

LC005269 - Page 2 of 4
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this section prior to October 1, 2024.
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(g)
Notwithstanding the provisions of § 34-18-35, a landlord or any agent of a landlord
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may not commence an action to evict for nonpayment of rent in any court of competent jurisdiction,
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unless, at the time the action is commenced, the landlord is in compliance with the requirements of
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subsections (a), (b), and (d) of this section. A landlord must present the court with evidence of
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compliance with subsections (a), (b), and (d) of this section at the time of filing an action to evict
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for nonpayment of rent in order to proceed with the civil action.
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(h)
The department of health may commence an action for injunctive relief and additional
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civil penalties of up to fifty dollars ($50.00) per violation against any landlord who repeatedly fails
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to comply with subsection (a) of this section. The attorney general may commence an action for
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injunctive relief and additional civil penalties of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000) per violation
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against any landlord who repeatedly fails to comply with subsection (b) of this section. Any
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penalties obtained pursuant to this subsection shall be used for the purposes of lead hazard
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mitigation, abatement, enforcement, or poisoning prevention, or for the purpose of administering
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the provisions of this section. No penalties shall be levied under this section prior to October 1,
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2024.
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SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO PROPERTY -- RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT
***
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This act would require landlords to register certain information for residential properties
2
constructed prior to 1978 with the department of health on a statewide registry and defines which
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information may be viewed on a public database.
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This act would take effect upon passage.
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