---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO PROPERTY (Eliminates the penalty of abating rent in cases where a non-resident landlord fails to designate an agent for service of process and would clarify that the fine for violating this section is civil.)"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO PROPERTY (Eliminates the penalty of abating rent in cases where a non-resident landlord fails to designate an agent for service of process and would clarify that the fine for violating this section is civil.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2018"
identifier: "HB 7511"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 7511 (2018)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Civil Procedure", "Equal Rights/Discrimination", "Fees", "Landlord & Tenant", "Property", "Real Estate"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Corvese", "Edwards", "Jacquard", "Marshall", "Solomon"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 16
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2018-02-08"
last_action: "2018-07-02"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/2bd86480-23aa-4dbd-9a70-cecefb933756"
source_url: "http://status.rilin.state.ri.us/"
source_hash: "dbe53924e0e7c2cac6662f3260718f7294fabe573b11e3bdffc44c979ae695f2"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ri"]
---

# Rhode Island HB 7511 (2018) — AN ACT RELATING TO PROPERTY (Eliminates the penalty of abating rent in cases where a non-resident landlord fails to designate an agent for service of process and would clarify that the fine for violating this section is civil.)

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **7511 SUB A** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText18/HouseText18/H7511A.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **68–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Corvese — primary (person)
- Edwards — primary (person)
- Jacquard — primary (person)
- Marshall — primary (person)
- Solomon — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2018-02-08** 02/08/2018 Introduced, referred to House Judiciary `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2018-04-06** 04/06/2018 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (04/11/2018)
- **2018-04-11** 04/11/2018 Committee recommended measure be held for further study
- **2018-05-18** 05/18/2018 Scheduled for consideration (05/23/2018)
- **2018-05-23** 05/23/2018 Committee recommends passage of Sub A `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2018-05-25** 05/25/2018 Placed on House Calendar (05/30/2018)
- **2018-05-30** 05/30/2018 House passed Sub A `passage`
- **2018-05-31** 05/31/2018 Referred to Senate Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2018-06-20** 06/20/2018 Scheduled for consideration (06/21/2018)
- **2018-06-21** 06/21/2018 Committee recommends passage of Sub A in concurrence `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2018-06-22** 06/22/2018 Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar (06/22/2018)
- **2018-06-22** 06/22/2018 Senate passed Sub A in concurrence `passage`
- **2018-06-23** 06/23/2018 Senate voted to reconsider
- **2018-06-23** 06/23/2018 Senate passed Sub A in concurrence `passage`
- **2018-07-02** 07/02/2018 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2018-07-02** 07/02/2018 Signed by Governor `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/2bd86480-23aa-4dbd-9a70-cecefb933756`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).