In this down economy, home purchases have been delayed, deferred or abandoned. Preeminently, home sales are down almost everywhere and when you ain't buyin', you gotta live somewhere. Thus, the rise of renters.

While it sometimes may not seem so, renters have certain rights and some clearly defined protections. Not all the power in the landlord-tenant relationship balances in favor of the landlord. Perhaps now, as much as at any other time, renters can call at least some of the shots. After all, landlords have mortgages too, and every vacancy is one step closer to financial peril. A landlord has at least an equal incentive to keep his rentals up, and keep his tenants happy, as does the tenant to find the right place to call home.

What can he ask?

A landlord can ask you certain questions: What kind of job do you have? How much do you earn? Who will be living in the unit? Have you ever been convicted of a felony? Are you a registered sex offender?

He may not, however, ask other questions: What is your race of ethnicity? What is your religious and/or sexual orientation? Do you have mental or physical disabilities?

A key right of every tenant is the right to “habitability,” which is just what it sounds like — the place must be suitable to be occupied as a residence. The place must have: adequate waterproofing and weather protection; unbroken doors and windows; properly functioning gas, electric, plumbing and running water (with adequate hot water); and functional heating and lighting.

The unit must also be free of rodents and vermin, and be clean and sanitary and free of rubbish or debris. There must be adequate receptacles for trash. The premises must also be supplied with adequate floors, stairways and railings. There must nothing unreasonably hazardous to life or health. If not provided with ahabitable premises, the tenant is generally within his rights to terminate the lease.

The tenant is also entitled to “quietly enjoy” the rental unit. “Quiet enjoyment” may be defined as a covenant made by the landlord (or implied in law) promising the tenant that, so long as he abides by the terms of the lease, he may have possession of the premises in peace and without disturbance. The right is, however, not absolute and a landlord will commonly reserve a right to inspect, repair and maintain the premises and to enter under certain circumstances, generally with reasonable advance notice to the tenant.

Leases should be — but don't necessarily have to be — written. That said, if a lease is for a term of longer than one year, it must be in writing to be enforceable. Even if for shorter than one year, however, a written lease has the advantage of spelling out the rental terms in a form that can be referred to and relied upon. In the event of a dispute, it is substantially easier to haul out the written lease than to rely upon what the parties recall they had agreed to.

Landlord liability

While a landlord generally has certain legal liabilities, those liabilities are not universal. If, for example, there is a fire or a burst pipe, while the landlord will generally be responsible to repair the damage, but is generally not responsible for the tenant's damaged property (furniture, clothing, etc). Renter's insurance, which covers the tenant's things, is almost always a good bet and — at least in the world of insurance, tends to be inexpensive.

Landlords can, and usually do, ask for the first and last month's rent and a “cleaning” or “security” deposit. By law, the landlord must return the amount of the security deposit not applied to damages within 30 days of termination of the lease. The time can be extended to up to 60 days if so provided in the lease.

Any amount not returned must be specifically detailed to the tenant in writing. If that statement is not provided, the landlord forfeits the right to retain any amount. If the landlord willfully and wrongful retains the deposit — or fails to return it within the required period of time, the tenant may bring action against the landlord and, in addition to refund of the deposit, may be entitled to damages in an amount equal to triple the amount of the security deposit plus recovery of his attorney fees and court costs.

Limiting guests

A landlord may set reasonable rules about the length of time guests may stay with you. These are usually stated in your rental agreement. Restrictions based on age, race, religion, gender, gender identification or sexual orientation are illegal.

A landlord can give you a written three-day notice if you have done any of the following: failed to pay the rent, violated any term of the rental agreement, damaged the premises, disturbed other residents, used the apartment for illegal purposes, or have had unauthorized pets or occupants.

The notice will tell you either that you must do something within three days to correct the problem or that the problem can't be fixed by you, and that you must move out within three days). A landlord may only terminate your tenancy without cause at the end of the lease (or at the end of a month if you are a month-to-month tenant).

When the landlord wishes to terminate the tenancy without cause, you are entitled to the amount of notice set forth in your lease. If no notice period is specified, you are entitled to the amount of notice required by law. If you fail to vacate the apartment after receiving a notice to vacate, a landlord can, and likely will, evict you.

If you abandon a lease prior to its termination, the landlord may select among a variety of damages, including holding you liable for payment of the full rental amount for the entire unexpired term. The landlord is, however, required to attempt to reasonably mitigate his damages, for example by trying to rent the premises to another tenant.

In landlord-tenant relations, there are rules and rights aplenty. While most landlords are decent people trying to earn an honest living, the unscrupulous one or two at times gives others a bad name.

One thing is for sure — as a tenant you are not at the mercy of your landlord. If you find yourself sideways in a lease, one resource is the Colorado Division of Housing (http://dola.colorado.gov/cdh), or call a competent attorney to discuss your situation. Remember, a man's home is his castle. Even if he's just renting.

Rohn K. Robbins is an attorney licensed before the Bars of Colorado and California who practices in the Vail Valley. He may be reached at 970-926-4461 or at robbins@colorado.net.