Frequently asked questions

No. RentCounsel provides legal information, not legal advice. We help you understand tenant protection laws by referencing actual statutes and ordinances, but we are not a law firm and cannot represent you. For your specific legal situation, we recommend consulting with a qualified attorney or contacting your local tenant rights organization. Every statute reference we provide includes a source link so you can verify the information independently.

No. RentCounsel is private. We do not contact your landlord, your property manager, or anyone else on your behalf. If you choose to generate a letter, it is created for you to review, download, and send yourself.

This is one of the most common fears renters have, and it's completely understandable. The good news is that every state we cover has anti-retaliation laws that protect tenants who exercise their legal rights. These laws typically prohibit landlords from raising rent, reducing services, or filing eviction in response to complaints. Ask about your state's specific retaliation protections in the chat, and we'll show you the exact statutes that protect you.

Yes. RentCounsel was built for renters who do not have easy access to expensive legal help. You can ask unlimited questions for free and get statute-backed answers. When you're ready to take action, you can generate a landlord letter, preview part of it inline, and unlock the full download for $4.99.

Our information is backed by actual statutes and local ordinances that have been verified against official legal codes. Every answer includes specific statute citations with source links so you can verify them yourself. Our AI uses a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) system, meaning it retrieves real statutes from our database before generating a response. That said, laws change over time, and our database may not reflect the very latest amendments. Always verify critical information with an attorney.

We currently cover tenant protection laws in 10 states: California, New York, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Washington, Massachusetts, Colorado, Oregon, and New Jersey. We also cover city-level ordinances for 6 major cities: New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, and Portland. We are continually expanding our coverage to include more jurisdictions.

Yes. Asking questions is completely free with no limits. No sign-up needed, no credit card required. You can ask unlimited questions and get answers backed by real statute citations. The only paid action we are building around is letter generation: preview the opening section, then pay $4.99 to unlock and download the full letter.

When you're ready to take action, RentCounsel can generate a statute-backed landlord letter based on your situation. You see the first part of the letter inline before purchase. If it looks right, you pay $4.99 to unlock the full letter and download it.

No. The current product direction is a downloadable letter, not a mailing service. RentCounsel generates the letter for you, and you choose how to send it.

No. You can start asking questions immediately with no account, no email, and no sign-up. Your conversation is saved in your browser automatically, and you can also email yourself a copy for safekeeping.