Can I withhold rent if there is something broken with my apartment that i have asked my landlord to fix?

Question

My garbage disposal has not been working for the past 2 months. My landlord wants to charge me a late fee because my rent was late a day. I dont want to pay a $100.00 late fee for 1 day especially since my garbage disposal doesnt work and I called 2 months ago asking for it to be fixed.

Answer 1

Yes you can! When you with hold rent the send you a court notice, take the proof (pictures, letters saying you called to have it fixed and whatever else proof you have) with you to court, tell the judge the reason show the proof and that they didn't fix it and that you asked to have it fix and nothing was done. If the judge sees it in your favor you won't have to pay the rent until it gets fix (he will order then landlord to fix it), and you won't have to pay the late fee because you had probable cause, but if he doesn't see it in your favor, you'll have to pay the owed rent money right away and possible the late fee

Answer 2

I'm sorry but no you can't. However you can call the rental board and put in your complant. If you and your landlord signed a contract, read over the contract again and see if there is a late fee charge for rent being late even a day. I dont know of to many landlords who charge and extra $100.00 for being a day late on the rent. You might want to look for a different place to save further hassel from this landlord.
I know some tenents hire someone to fix or repair whatever needs done and take that amount off the rent and provide a copy receiept to the landlord, again read over your contract to see if is was in the contract that you and the landlord agreed upon. I hate to see you out the cost of repairing something that he should of done in the first place and not be reimberressed. Again all good issues to ask the rental board and get what ever you can in writing for your records. Build a strong case for who knows what may happens or comes down the road.
If you can come up with at least $1,000.00 find a house to buy rather then rent. You have your down payment in hand and the amount you pay in rent is easily a mortgage payment. Strart building yourself some credit and equity.
Good Luck

Answer 3

This all depends on the state you live in.And since you don't say I can't give an accurate answer.

In most states you have a few days after the rent is due before a late fee can be charged. Some states allow a fee even for a day late.
As for the repair in most states if the landlord has not had it done you can have it done, pay for it and deduct it from the rent. You will need to send the landlord a copy of the repair bill with the rent and a note stating what was done.
As for with holding rent again some states allow it and others do not.
Your best place to get answers to these questions is your local board of health or building codes enforcement office.

Answer 4

You have to put the request for repair in writing, if the repair is not made in a reasonable amount of time, you again have to notify your landlord in writing that you will either pay for the repair and take it off the rent, or that you will be withholding rent until it is repaired. When withholding rent, you have to open a bank account and deposit the rent money into the account and keep it there. Make sure you keep all copies of your letters to the landlord. Personally with it being a garbage disposal, I would fix it and take it off the rent. If you were taken to court for non-payment I don't think a judge would consider non repair of a garbage disposal serious enough to withhold rent. Check into landlord-tenant laws for your state.
Also, regarding your late fee, it sounds to me like your landlord is charging what is considered excessive by law. Landlords are only allowed to charge up to a certain amount for late fees. Even if your lease states that that is the amount you have to pay as a late fee, and the amount is considered excessive by law, the law overrides the lease. A landlord cannot put things into a lease which is in violation of state law regarding landlord tenant rights. What state are you living in????

Answer 5

No, you cannot withhold your rent for a garbage disposal. You can put your rent in escrow for health and safety issues and you have to go to court to do that as the court sets up the account, you can't just waltz down to your local bank and put the money in the account. As far as the late fee, if ou lease says that you have to pay for being one day late then you have to pay. Leases are different all over the US so read your lease or check with your local district court housing as sometimes landlords put things in leases that are not legal under the local laws. landlords can't super cede local laws, IE, charging a 100 late fee if the state says the most you can charge is 5% of the total amount due.

Answer 6

Well, you can IF you put the rent in an escrow account. Your bank can advise you on how to do this. This only works for future rent money due, not past.
You cannot, however, simply withhold rent and say you didn't receive repairs. The escrow account shows good faith that you aren't trying to get out of paying, that the money is available, in the account, ON TIME. There is no way to open the account after the fact that you were late on rent and have it stand up legally. I think you must pay the $100.00 unless you can convince the landlord of the defense.
My husband and I did this while living in an apartment. We couldn't several small repairs done, and lost food in the refrigerator due to an electricity failure that lasted about 24 hours. Sooo we put rent in escrow, notified the landlord by certified mail, and when they took us to court WE sued for an abatement of rent to cover the the food that went bad. When in front of the judge, we presented the account with 5 months rent, all deposited on time. We won the case, were not evicted, got the abatement and the repairs and the apartment complex then got their rent, in full. No, we did not have an attorney represent us in court.
Good Luck.

Answer 7

I actually saw a case like this on one of the televised court shows. Yes, you can hold your rent. You have to open up an account to put your monthly rent in that you would normally pay. You must have everything in writing and proof of submittance to your landlord. If you are going to withhold rent until your garbage disposal is fixed you must put it in writing to your landlord describing what you are doing and why and that you will be putting your rent into an account to hold until the problem is fixed. When they fix the problem, you give them the rent that you owe in full. If your landlord wants to charge you late fees, then they can take you to small claims court to try to get it. I cannot guarantee that the judge will not make you pay late charges since the issue does not involve an unlivable problem. Your landlord does have an obligation though to take care of problems that arise in your apt. If they are not willing, then you should legally be able to hold the rent, without late fees, until they follow thru.

Answer 8

NO. You cannot withhold rent for your landlord not performing maintenance. What you can do is 1. break your lease due to breach of contract, 2. send him a certified letter stating that if he does not fix the disposal within so many days, you will have it fixed yourself and take the cost out of your next month's rent, 3. call the local housing authority or similar agency. For #2, make sure your lease doesn't say anything about tenants not being reimbursed for repairs they make themselves.

You cannot simply not pay your rent. There are other avenues to dealing with this type of problem.

Answer 9

You may go through your agreement between the two, and proceed accordingly. However, if the agreement do not cover the issue, you better pay $ 100.00 as late fee now, and give 30 days or 60 days notice to your Landlord. After the notice period, get the necessary repairs done at his cost and adjust the bill in your following months rent.

Answer 10

Check with your local District Courts Prosecuting Attorney about this, b/c it will help if you are 1 up on landlord. You actually have more rights as a tenant at the property, legally, than the owner... good news. Usually the rights you do have pertain to owners having to fix the things tenant claims needs tending to. A $100 late fee is absurd! Is it in your lease agreement or rental papers that fee has to be paid... if it is then you shouldn't have signed that, legally you have a 10 day grace period (ANYWHERE) money is due, even banks! If you don't have any agreement then you sure do need to look into having one, and notarized. Check your rights!