Can you legally withhold rent from your land lord for...?

Question

not repairing multiple safety concerns, such as not having keys for deadbolts, only doorknobs. The windows are also painted shut, leaving no way out of the back of the house in a fire. There is also a closet that opens to the outside of the house, which houses our breaker box, hot water heater, and personal items. I dont have a key for that door either!
I also have a newly developed bug problem and doors he still hasn't replaced...
I dont want to be in the wrong, but he has not even attempted to correct any of these issues and we are now 3 months into the lease.....

Answer 1

You should not have to put up with these conditions ... but you DID sign a lease agreement, I believe. On the agreement, there should be some statement regarding how to come to a solution on issues just like this.

You are not (at the moment) legally able to withhold rent.

On the other hand, you CAN have everything fixed and submit the bill to the landlord. (The downside to this is that you first have to pay for the work yourself and then try to get the money back from the landlord.)

Find a legal expert and see what they have to say - and bring the rental agreement / lease with you for them to read.

Even if there's nothing specific in the agreement, there may be something in the state/province equivalent of a landlord/tenant act to give you some grounds to get the landlord to budge.

Answer 2

Most cities have a housing department/court set up to deal with issues like these. While you can't just withhold rent, there may be a program where you can deposit your rent into an escrow account, which will not let your landlord get their hands on it until needed repairs are made. Where I live, first you must document your attempts to contact the landlord so they have a chance to rectify the problems. Usually this is done by certified letter and picture evidence, if this does not alleviate the situation, that is when the court becomes involved. Good luck.

Answer 3

In most areas you can set up an escrow account through the court house. This changes from state to state, but normally there is some way to do it. What that means is you pay it to the court and it goes into a court controlled account. They then schedule a hearing about three months away to give that time to work. If it doesn't then you go to some type of arbitration.

Most cities have some tenant advocacy group. They will be a big help for free. If not you need to talk to a lawyer. We did this in Ohio, and it was very easy to do. And you usually get pretty rapid action because they need the rent released.

Answer 4

What you probably can do, depending on your state, is write him a letter stating that if he does not make the apartment/house habitable (which he is required to do by law) in 30 days, you will pay for the money to fix the issues and deduct it from your rent, or you will place the rent money in an escrow account until the matter is resolved. You can go to a local landlord tenant court. Most of the people represent themselves there. Check your state's judiciary website, there may be some information there.

Answer 5

Absolutely you can withhold rent. But before you do so, you need to send a certified letter to the landlord informing him of all of the problems that need to be corrected to document that he was aware of them. And indicate that if he doesn't correct them by such and such a date that you will have no choice but to withhold rent.

As other people said, it would be even better if you can get the local housing inspector out there so there is independent documentation of the problems.

Remember that if you do withhold rent, the landlord may take you to court and then you will need to have your case documented for the judge with photos etc. of the poor conditions in the apartment.

Answer 6

No you can't. I dealt with a very similar problem when I was in college.

My suggestion? Go to your local legal aid. This is who assisted us. We were told we could not withhold rent, but we were told to write a letter to the landlord indicating all the repairs that needed to be done and to send the letter certified. If repairs weren't made within 30 days then the Legal Aid lawyer was going to help us take action. It just so happened the lawyer represented others in our same building during the same time we came forward with our complaints. The judge ruled if the slumlord did not fix everything, then he was going to condemn the building.

Talk to a lawyer who specializes in this area. They'll be able to assist you on what you need to do. Good luck!

Oh yeah...in our letter we threatened if repairs weren't done within 30 days in receipt of the letter, we were going to call city inspectors. (They fine the owners if there is gross negligence)

Answer 7

Yes in most States you can put the rent in an escrow account until the rap airs are made. You must set up the escrow account though or your landlord can take you to court for non payment of rent. With the escrow you can prove to the judge that your( hands are clean so to speak) and in some States you can use the money to make the repairs that are vital to you living in the house.

Answer 8

You can with hold rent, you will get an eviction notice. You should move. Check your lease, he has broken that lease. You have grounds to terminate without penalty. Better to pick up and go then to deal with the crap and more cost to you. BTW, In most States under State Law renters have no rights. Republicans have made the (landlord/tenant) laws to favor landlords over tenants. That does not change the laws of "breach of Contract", they will get you damages. Your Contract is the same as your lease.

Answer 9

No you cannot. Even though the landlord may not be upholding their end of the lease you can still be evicted.

Answer 10

No. He can evict you for that. However, you can contact your local Housing Committee and report your landlord. Also, contact a Landlord/Tenant attorney.