The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) governs the Fair Housing Act. This particular act provides the legal framework for rental housing developments. However, there are different rules and regulations for every housing complex. Below are answers to few of the more common questions about Apartment Housing:

Can my landlord legally ask me to include details such as my social security number, date of birth, where I work and so on in a rental application form that he wants me to fill in for a credit check? I have lived in my apartment for 13 years. I have always paid my rent on time and had been a good tenant.

In this case, there is no hard and fast rule that you would need to fill in that application for your landlord, if you do not wish to. However, it is also possible for your landlord to cancel your lease, if he wants to. Usually, from a legal perspective, any landlord can run a credit and background check on his tenants and ask them to fill out the rental application form for that. Actually, the background check would in turn make the house premises safer for every tenant living there including you.

I got evicted from an apartment three years ago, which somehow my new landlord came to know of. Therefore, even though I was accepted to rent this new apartment in a housing property, they did not let me in and turned down the offer on me. Now I have nowhere to live. Is there anything I can do?

In your case, you do have a public record in court that shows your landlord has filed a case of eviction against you. Your credit report shows that too. Therefore, in this case, you could look for an apartment where the landlords would not run a credit check. This is because that record would certainly go against you when you search for apartments. Alternately, what you can do is tell the truth to a prospective landlord, saying that the eviction record is very old and that you have means to pay your rent on time. Moreover, you could also offer him/her some extra security in advance, if the landlord agrees upon renting the place to you.

The apartment I live in is subsidized by HUD. Is it possible for a manger of a private housing complex to get in my apartment whenever he wishes to?

Usually, tenants rights include an exclusive right to use and posses his or her apartment. Therefore, in such a case, it is not at all possible for a manager or any landlord to enter a tenants apartment at his/her will anytime he or she wants to. They can only enter if there is an absolute emergency situation. It is a rule for all the rental units, including those that are HUD subsidized.

An apartment complex will be under a single company where the tenants should live and rent an apartment there. Therefore, every tenants needs to know the apartment complex rules and regulations so that they can avoid disagreements with the management as well as their landlords later on. If you need any clarification about your particular situation with respect to Apartment Housing, you may wish to ask a real estate lawyer.