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SB1135 • 2026

Nuisances

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 13; Title 16; Title 29; Title 39; Title 67 and Title 68, relative to nuisances.

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Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Bailey, Parkinson
Last action
2025-05-27
Official status
Comp. became Pub. Ch. 510
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill text provided does not include details about statutory damages or specific amounts. The information on statutory damages is derived from the summary and may need verification against the full text of the enacted law.

Changes to Nuisance Laws in Tennessee

This law changes how nuisances are handled by making certain types of incidents on a property prima facie evidence of a nuisance and allowing for legal action against the property owner.

What This Bill Does

  • Makes three or more unrelated incidents within 24 months that result in sexually related, drug-related, assaultive, or firearm-related charges on the same parcel of real estate prima facie evidence of a nuisance per se.
  • Requires written notice to be given to the property owner before legal action can be taken under this law.
  • Allows for additional legal remedies if another incident occurs after an order of abatement has been issued and enforced.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Property owners who have had multiple incidents resulting in certain types of charges on their property.
  • Local law enforcement and prosecutors involved in handling these cases.
  • Citizens and freeholders who can petition for abatement of a nuisance under current laws.

Terms To Know

Prima facie evidence
Evidence that is sufficient to establish a fact or raise a presumption unless disproved or rebutted.
Nuisance per se
A condition or activity that is considered a nuisance by law without the need for further proof of its harmful effects.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The exact amount of statutory damages to be paid is not specified and can vary between $1,000 and $50,000.
  • It does not specify how long property owners have to respond after receiving written notice before legal action can proceed.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Amendment 1-0 to HB1050

Plain English: The amendment adds new provisions to Tennessee law that establish certain criminal incidents as prima facie evidence of a nuisance and allow for legal action against property owners who fail to address these issues.

  • Defines specific types of charges (sexually related, drug-related, assaultive, firearm-related, and property/juvenile-related) as prima facie evidence of a nuisance if three or more unrelated incidents occur within specified time periods on the same parcel of real estate.
  • Allows for legal action against property owners who do not address these issues after receiving written notice from officers or persons named in § 29-3-102.
  • Imposes statutory damages ranging from $1,000 to $50,000 on individuals or entities that continue to maintain a nuisance after an order of abatement.
  • The amendment text does not specify the exact penalties for property owners who do not comply with the notice requirements.
  • It is unclear how this amendment will be enforced and what resources will be allocated for its implementation.
Amendment 2-0 to HB1050

Plain English: The amendment adds a new subdivision to exclude certain healthcare and treatment facilities from the provisions of subsection (f).

  • Exempts healthcare providers licensed under specific titles in Tennessee Code Annotated.
  • Excludes alcohol and drug prevention and treatment facilities, DUI schools, and mental health facilities from the application of subsection (f).
  • Removes certain educational and correctional facilities from the scope of subsection (f).
  • The exact nature of the provisions in subsection (f) is not provided, so it's unclear what specific activities or requirements are being exempted.
Amendment 1-0 to SB1135

Plain English: The amendment adds new provisions to Tennessee law that make certain types of criminal incidents on a property prima facie evidence of a nuisance and allow for legal action against the property owner.

  • Defines specific criminal charges (sexually related, drug-related, assaultive, firearm-related, and property/juvenile-related) as prima facie evidence of a nuisance if three or more unrelated incidents occur within specified time periods on the same parcel of real estate, followed by another incident within that period.
  • Establishes legal remedies for officers to take action against property owners who have received notice about such incidents and where additional similar incidents occur later.
  • Adds provisions allowing courts to impose statutory damages between $1,000 and $50,000 on entities maintaining nuisances if they were previously ordered to abate the nuisance.
  • The exact legal implications of these changes are complex and may vary based on judicial interpretation.
  • Some specific criminal statutes referenced in the amendment text might be too technical for a general summary.
Amendment 2-0 to SB1135

Plain English: The amendment adds a new part to Section 1 that says certain healthcare and treatment providers are not affected by some rules in the bill.

  • Adds an exception for healthcare providers licensed under specific titles to give medical care as usual.
  • Excludes alcohol and drug prevention and treatment facilities, DUI schools, and mental health facilities from being covered by certain parts of the bill.
  • Includes recovery residences, certified recovery court programs, and other approved or licensed facilities in the list of exceptions.
  • The exact rules that these providers are exempted from are not detailed in this amendment text.

Bill History

  1. 2025-05-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. became Pub. Ch. 510

  2. 2025-05-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Effective date(s) 07/01/2025

  3. 2025-05-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Pub. Ch. 510

  4. 2025-05-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Governor.

  5. 2025-05-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Transmitted to Governor for his action.

  6. 2025-05-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Senate Speaker

  7. 2025-04-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by H. Speaker

  8. 2025-04-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled; ready for sig. of H. Speaker.

  9. 2025-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  10. 2025-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Companion House Bill substituted

  11. 2025-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate, Ayes 30, Nays 0

  12. 2025-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Amendment withdrawn. (Amendment 2 - SA0416)

  13. 2025-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Amendment withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - SA0360)

  14. 2025-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill.

  15. 2025-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/17/2025

  16. 2025-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate Reset on calendar for 4/17/2025

  17. 2025-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Received from House, Passed on First Consideration

  18. 2025-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen.

  19. 2025-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., as am., Ayes 91, Nays 5, PNV 0

  20. 2025-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. adopted am. (Amendment 2 - HA0438)

  21. 2025-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA0365)

  22. 2025-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/16/2025

  23. 2025-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate Reset on calendar for 4/16/2025

  24. 2025-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/15/2025

  25. 2025-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate Reset on calendar for 4/15/2025

  26. 2025-04-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/14/2025

  27. 2025-04-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/14/2025

  28. 2025-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/10/2025

  29. 2025-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee

  30. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 4/9/2025

  31. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Judiciary Committee

  32. 2025-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 8, Nays 1 PNV 0

  33. 2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 4/1/2025

  34. 2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 4/1/2025

  35. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/31/2025

  36. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Civil Justice Subcommittee for 4/2/2025

  37. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Civil Justice Subcommittee to 4/2/2025

  38. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Civil Justice Subcommittee for 3/26/2025

  39. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    No Action Taken

  40. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Civil Justice Subcommittee for 3/19/2025

  41. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Civil Justice Subcommittee

  42. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Ref. to Judiciary Committee

  43. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee

  44. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  45. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, caption bill, held on desk - pending amdt.

  46. 2025-02-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  47. 2025-02-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  48. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

ON APRIL 16, 2025, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENTS #1 AND #2 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 1050, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 rewrites this bill to make changes and additions to present law concerning nuisances.

Under present law, a petition to abate a nuisance may be brought in the name of the state
, upon relation of the attorney general and reporter, or any dist
rict attorney general, or any city or county attorney, or without the concurrence of any such officers, upon the relation of 10 or more citizens and freeholders of the county wherein such nuisances may exist
.

Under this amendment, t
he occurrence of any o
f the
following
circumstances
is
prima facie evidence of a nuisance per se
, which may be established by providing written notice to the property owner,
and the existence thereof for which any
one who is authorized to petition for abatement of a nuisance
in
the name of the state
under present law
may avail themselves of any remedies available at law or in equity
:

(
1
) Three or more unrelated incidents occurring within a period of 24 months on the same parcel of real property that result in sexually related
charges and, after the receipt of
written
notice and within 24 months of the first of the incidents resulting in a sexually related charge that is the subject of
the
notice, another additional unrelated incident occurs that results in a sexually related ch
arge
, as defined in the full text of this amendment;

(
2
) Three or more unrelated incidents occurring within a period of 24 months on the same parcel of real property that result in drug-related charges and, after the receipt of
written
notice and within
24 months of the first of the incidents resulting in a drug-related charge that is the subject of
the
notice, another additional unrelated incident occurs that results in a drug-related charge
, as defined in the full text of this amendment;

(
3
) Three or
more unrelated incidents occurring within a period of 24 months on the same parcel of real property that result in assaultive charges and, after the receipt of
written
notice and within 24 months of the first of the incidents resulting in an assaultive cha
rge that is the subject of
the
notice, another additional unrelated incident occurs that results in an assaultive charge
, as defined in the full text of this amendment
;

(
4
) Three or more unrelated incidents occurring within a period of 24 months on the s
ame parcel of real property that result in firearm-related charges and, after the receipt of
written
notice and within 24 months of the first of the incidents resulting in a firearm-related charge that is the subject of
the
notice, another additional unrel
ated incident occurs that results in a firearm-related charge
, as defined in the full text of this amendment
; or

(
5
) Three or more unrelated incidents occurring within a period of 36 months on the same parcel of real property that result in property-rela
ted or juvenile-related charges and, after the receipt of
written
notice and within 36 months of the first of the incidents resulting in a property-related or juvenile-related charge that is the subject of
the
notice, another additional unrelated incident
occurs that results in a property-related or juvenile-related charge
, as defined in the full text of this amendment
.

For purposes of (1)
–
(5), an arrest must have occurred in order for a violation to be a charge.

If, upon the trial, the existence of a
nuisance
, as described in (1)
–
(5)
is established) and, following an order of abatement, an additional incident occurs on the same parcel of real property that results in the type of charges that resulted in the original nuisance finding, then
under this a
mendment
one additional incident is prima facie evidence of a nuisance per se and the existence thereof for which any
one who is authorized to petition for abatement of a nuisance
in the name of the state
under present law
may avail themselves of any remedi
es available at law or in equity.

If
a
court finds a nuisance as described in
(1)-(5)
and the person or entity keeping, maintaining, or carrying on such nuisance is the person or entity who was subject to the previous order of abatement, then, in addition
to the remedies available at law or in equity, th
is amendment authorizes th
e court
to
require the person or entity keeping, maintaining, or carrying on such nuisance to pay statutory damages in an amount not less than $1,000 and not more than $50,000 to a
ny person who owns real property within the zip code in which the nuisance exists and who files a claim with the court alleging that the person's property value was damaged by the continued existence of the nuisance.

AMENDMENT #2 replaces the requirement
that an arrest occurred with a requirement that a
warrant or citation has been issued or a grand jury has returned a true bill
in order for there to be a charge under this bill.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
HOUSE BILL 1050
By Parkinson

SENATE BILL 1135
By Bailey

SB1135
003189
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 5;
Title 6; Title 7; Title 13; Title 16; Title 29; Title 39;
Title 67 and Title 68, relative to nuisances.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 29-3-106(a)(1), is amended by
deleting "Five (5) days'" and substituting "Four (4) days'".
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 29-3-106(c), is amended by deleting
"five (5) days" and substituting "four (4) days".
SECTION 3. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.