Pawtucket, RI local landlord rules
State law also applies. See Rhode Island landlord-tenant law and the Rhode Island landlord FAQ. State rules: Security deposit limit · Deposit return deadline · Notice to enter · Late fees · Eviction notice (nonpayment) · Rent increase notice.
Quick facts
| Topic | At a glance |
|---|---|
| Rental licensing / registration | Yes, for absentee landlords: owners who don't live at their residential property. They must file, under oath with the Office of Zoning and Code Enforcement, their name, address and phone number (or the property manager's), an emergency number, and their mortgage holder and insurer (§ 325-3). The city notifies them in writing to register within 30 days. Out-of-state landlords must name and keep a local agent for legal notices, and report changes within 30 days. If they don't, rent abates until an agent is named, with fines up to $500 per violation (§ 325-4). Failing to provide the information carries a fine of up to $100 for a first offense and up to $500 after that, and unpaid fines become a lien on the property (§§ 325-5, 325-6). |
| Rent withholding / escrow | Yes, when the city orders repairs. If the city's code enforcement officer orders repairs to a dwelling after finding a serious hazard or imminent peril to occupants, the tenant's obligation to pay rent to the landlord is suspended (§ 325-1). Rent is paid instead into an escrow account set up by the enforcing officer to cover the repairs, and the landlord can't sue for that rent or for possession. If the tenant stops paying into escrow, the landlord may sue (§ 325-2). |
Details & sources
Rental licensing / registration
Yes, for absentee landlords: owners who don't live at their residential property. They must file, under oath with the Office of Zoning and Code Enforcement, their name, address and phone number (or the property manager's), an emergency number, and their mortgage holder and insurer (§ 325-3). The city notifies them in writing to register within 30 days. Out-of-state landlords must name and keep a local agent for legal notices, and report changes within 30 days. If they don't, rent abates until an agent is named, with fines up to $500 per violation (§ 325-4). Failing to provide the information carries a fine of up to $100 for a first offense and up to $500 after that, and unpaid fines become a lien on the property (§§ 325-5, 325-6).
Verified Source: Pawtucket Code ch. 325, art. II, § 325-3, § 325-4, § 325-5, § 325-6 (Browser transcription) · last checked 2026-10-16
Back to quick facts ↑Rent withholding / escrow
Yes, when the city orders repairs. If the city's code enforcement officer orders repairs to a dwelling after finding a serious hazard or imminent peril to occupants, the tenant's obligation to pay rent to the landlord is suspended (§ 325-1). Rent is paid instead into an escrow account set up by the enforcing officer to cover the repairs, and the landlord can't sue for that rent or for possession. If the tenant stops paying into escrow, the landlord may sue (§ 325-2).
Verified Source: Pawtucket Code ch. 325, art. I, § 325-1, § 325-2 (Browser transcription) · last checked 2026-10-16
Back to quick facts ↑Research coverage
1 of 13 topics checked at the local level (state law is covered on the state page). A topic counts as checked only when every subtopic in it is checked or no additional requirement was found after a recorded full read. How coverage works.
| Topic | Status | Subtopics done |
|---|---|---|
| Deposits | Not researched | 0 of 2 |
| Deposit return deadlines | Not researched | None tracked at this level |
| Rent increases and rent control | Not researched | 0 of 1 |
| Late fees | Not researched | None tracked at this level |
| Landlord entry | Not researched | None tracked at this level |
| Repairs and habitability | Checked: requirement found | 1 of 1 |
| Screening and application fees | Not researched | None tracked at this level |
| Fair housing and assistance animals | Not researched | 0 of 1 |
| Disclosures | Not researched | 0 of 2 |
| Renewal and termination | Not researched | None tracked at this level |
| Eviction | Not researched | 0 of 3 |
| Registration and licensing | Partially researched | 1 of 3 |
| Short-term rentals | Not researched | 0 of 2 |
Also applies statewide
Rhode Island rules that also apply in Pawtucket:
- Security deposit limit
- Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-19(a), a landlord may not demand or receive a security deposit, however denominated, in an amount or value in excess of one month's periodic rent. Subsection (e) does not preclude a landlord who rents a furnished apartment from demanding or receiving a furniture security deposit if the replacement value of the furniture being furnished by the landlord, valued at the time the lease is executed, is five thousand dollars ($5,000) or greater, in which instance the landlord may charge a separate furniture security deposit of up to one month's periodic rent. Subsection (h) provides that no rental agreement shall contain any waiver of the provisions of this section. Subsections (b), (c), (d), (f), and (g) address return, itemization, damages, the furniture-deposit return, and transfers of the landlord's interest; those rules are not fully restated here. Example: a landlord of an unfurnished unit may not demand a security deposit of more than one month's periodic rent, even if the lease calls that payment something else. A separate furniture deposit under subsection (e) is allowed only for a furnished apartment whose furniture meets the $5,000 replacement-value threshold. Verified Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-19(a) · last checked 2026-11-12 · Full Rhode Island security deposit limit page
- Deposit return deadline
- Within 20 days after the tenancy ends, possession is delivered, or the tenant gives a forwarding address, whichever is later. Verified Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-19(b) · last checked 2026-10-20 · Full Rhode Island deposit return deadline page
- Notice to enter
- At least 2 days' notice except in an emergency or where impracticable; entry only at reasonable times. Verified Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-26(c) · last checked 2026-10-25 · Full Rhode Island notice to enter page
- Late fees
- The state landlord-tenant statute sets no late-fee cap; the lease terms control (full-text search of R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 34-18 (Residential Landlord and Tenant Act)). Verified Source: R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 34-18 (Residential Landlord and Tenant Act) · last checked 2026-10-23 · Full Rhode Island late fees page
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