Editorial guidance

Every statement on this site cites a primary source — a statute, regulation, or government document — so you can verify the claim yourself. A small number of statements are marked Editorial guidance instead.

What it means

Editorial guidance statements are objective, practical advice that is accurate and widely accepted but cannot be traced to a single authoritative legal source. Examples:

• Send all communication with your landlord in writing and keep copies.
• Document the condition of your unit with photos and timestamps before moving in.
• Request all repair promises in writing before signing anything.

These are things housing advocates and legal aid attorneys consistently advise tenants to do. The guidance is sound, but it reflects professional practice and common sense rather than a specific section of law.

How we label it

Editorial guidance statements display a gray Editorial guidance chip instead of the blue statute or regulation chips used for legally-sourced statements. The chip color is intentional: it tells you at a glance what kind of authority is behind the claim.

What it is not

Editorial guidance is not legal advice and is not a substitute for speaking with a lawyer or legal aid organization. No statement on this site — whether statute-backed or editorial — should be relied upon as legal counsel for your specific situation.

Our standard

We only publish editorial guidance when the advice is:

• Consistent with what legal aid organizations in the jurisdiction recommend
• Free of jurisdictional specificity (so it applies broadly)
• Practical and actionable for a tenant in crisis

If a statement can be grounded in a statute or regulation, we do that instead and remove the editorial label.