"Every Tenant's Rental Guide" (Nolo.com, $26.95), is a model for traditional publishers who want to compete with the information-laden Internet.

The latest in a best-selling line of self-help legal guides, the hefty rental tome is a thorough, relevant, objective and interactive renters' manual no tenant should be without.

But then, Berkeley, CA-based Nolo.com (formerly Nolo Press) isn't your typical traditional publisher.

It recently changed names to underscore its commitment to the Internet and has since become a leader among Net-based news and information services.

But Nolo.com hasn't forsaken its 28-year deep roots. You needn't turn on the computer to get plain-English help with legal issues that touch a variety of life styles.

The new rental guide is a well-written and researched example, addressing the needs of the nation's approximate 85 million people who rent their homes.

Landlord-tenant issues ranked eighth among the Top 10 common consumer complaints handled by city county or state consumer agencies in 1998, according a recent survey released by the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators and the Consumer Federation of America.

Needing all the help they can get, renters spend a median 29 percent of their income for housing, compared to homeowners who spend only 19 percent. And renters pay relatively more -- a median $537 a month for housing, just $56 a month less than owners, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Until renters realize it's likely a better deal to buy a home or can afford to make the move to owning "Every Tenant's Rental Guide" is their guide book to better living.

From finding a place to rent to moving out -- or getting kicked out -- the book is packed with the essentials: up-to-date and state-specific laws, rules and rights, contracts, precautions to take to avoid troubles down the road, and step-by-step measures should problems arise.

For that interactive feel, the book is peppered with icons that indicate where to get more information. The icons also refer you to related sections of the book, provide practical tips and ideas and otherwise highlight important information. The convention makes for easy navigation through 20 chapters and an appendix of state laws and agencies as well as Nolo.com's trademark tear out forms.

Topics covered with anecdotes, side bars, sample letters and humorous illustrations include leases and rental agreements, rent rules, security deposits, discrimination, moving in, moving out, roommates, repairs, maintenance, improvements and alterations, privacy rights, environmental hazards, injuries and evictions.

From the book, here are 10 Tips Every Tenant Needs to Know

1. To land that rental, be prepared. Bring a completed rental application, written references from previous landlords and employers and a current copy of your credit report.

2. Read the contract. Look for unacceptable provisions, say, restrictions on guests or pets, design alterations or running a home business.

3. Get everything in writing. Accept and file away only written contracts, repair requests, correspondence. Put oral agreements in writing.

4. Know your privacy rights. If you understand your privacy rights, it will be easier to protect them.

5. Know your rights to live in a habitable home. Landlords must offer you adequate heat, water and electricity as well as clean, sanitary and structurally safe premises.

6. Keep talking. Communications between you and your landlord can prevent nasty legal battles.

7. Buy renter's insurance. Your landlord's insurance policy does not cover your losses and the typical $350 a year for a $50,000 policy is worth it to cover what you own.

8. Make sure security deposit refund procedures are spelled out. Security deposit issues covered in your lease or rental agreement protects you from misunderstandings when it's time to vacate the premises.

9. Be safe. Learn in advance what you can expect from your landlord in terms of safety devices such as deadbolts and window locks. Be aware of your unit's vulnerability to intrusion and crime in the neighborhood.

10. Know when to fight an eviction and when to move. If you lose an eviction lawsuit, you may end up hundreds (even thousands) of dollars in debt and burdened by a negative credit rating.

For more Apartment & Renter's News, Click Here

Published: December 2, 1999

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Broderick Perkins parlayed a career in old-school journalism into a contemporary digital news service that really hits home. The award-winning consumer journalist, originally from Wilmington, DE, is founder, publisher and executive editor of the bootstrap DeadlineNews Group, a Silicon Valley-based editorial content and consulting service specializing in residential real estate, consumer news and related editorial consulting services. The DeadlineNews Group includes the website, DeadlineNews.com, offering real estate editorial content and consulting services, and its back shop, the Deadline Newsroom, an open house on news that really hits home. Perkins obtained his formal journalism education from University of Delaware and a journalism boot camp, the Institute of Journalism Education at the University of California-Berkeley. He went on to 20 years of service as a daily newspaper journalist at the Wilmington, DE News Journal and San Jose, CA Mercury News. Perkins covered housing on the San Jose Mercury News reporting team which earned a General News Reporting Pulitzer Prize in 1989 for coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake. He has also produced real estate, consumer and small business content for the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, RealtyTimes.com, Nolo.com, Better Homes and Gardens, the National Association of Realtors, Homestore/Move and Intuit/Quicken among more than three dozen publications. In addition to managing the DeadlineNews Group, Perkins most recently served as chief editorial consultant for Nolo's Essential Guide To Buying Your First Home, Nolo, and writes real estate television scripts for RealtyTimes.com.