(a) No licensee shall take reprisal(s) against a resident or prospective resident or association formed pursuant to § 31-44-3.1. (b) An increase in rent, nonrenewal of lease, refusal to offer a lease, or termination of tenancy, taken by a licensee against a resident, prospective resident, or association within six (6) months after the resident, prospective resident, or association has taken any protected lawful action, shall create a rebuttable presumption that the act by the licensee is a reprisal. Reprisal may be pleaded as a defense in any court proceeding brought against a resident or prospective resident after he or she has taken any protected lawful action. (c) In addition to any other remedy under this chapter, a resident, prospective resident, or association who has been the subject of a reprisal shall be entitled to the remedies provided for retaliatory actions in § 34-18-46. History of Section.P.L. 1984, ch. 382, § 2; P.L. 1990, ch. 307, § 1; P.L. 1994, ch. 182, § 1; P.L. 1998, ch. 57, § 1.
Rhode Island Legal Code