Heater has broken for almost a month in MD apartment what can make the landlord do?

Question

My boyfriend lives in apartment complex in Maryland. The heater/furnace broke 3 1/2 weeks ago. He has notified them of this several times and have received no response at all. No date of when it will get fixed or anything.
He and I (I live 300 miles away) have called the maintenance # at all times of day (8-5 when there supposed to be open)just to get the answering service. He works 16 hour days so he rarely can go into the rental office in person to complain about this. My question are what are his rights in the situation? Can he call someone in the government? Can he legally withhold rent into till this situation is rectified?

Of course he paid the gas bill...There was barely and gas used during the summer since only the cook stove uses it.

Answer 1

He can not legally withhold rent, but he can call the Housing Authority in his county.

I would call the front office and talk to the manager, not the maintenance guy. They should get on this right away, unless "heater has broken" means your BF did not pay his gas bill. In that case there isn't anything for the landlord to do.

Answer 2

Send a certified letter to the landlord and include the dates and times you have placed calls left message and state as of this date you have not received any response. Give them 24 hours to respond to the situation if then no response which I assume will continue to be the case, call housing code eforcement and let them know the situation. They will set up a time to come which should be fairly soon seeing as how it's winter time. I was there just this weekend and it was in the 30 during the day and lower that night. They then will notify the landlord and give him time to respond. They will cc your boyfriend in this letter at that time it will tell him if he can go to the court and put his rent payments in an escrow account until the repairs are made. Nonetheless, he needs to be somewhere where it's warm. This is not a good situation. I'm hoping he has purchased an electic heater. If the entire builiding is not getting heat put a call into the local TV station and the red cross just in case there are elderly people there who are suffering. Good luck.

Answer 3

The first thing to do is send the landlord a written complaint, keeping a copy for yourself. Send it certified. The landlord is REQUIRED to act in a "timely manner."
If nothing is done, then your boyfriend can take the landlord to court.

Keep a log of all communication attempts previously made, as well as any you make from here on in.

I don't know about your state as far as withholding rent, but you can check out the attached website. It may be of some help.

Good luck -

Answer 4

You will have to look at the lease agreement. I would put the landlord on written notice that he has 24 hours to repair it, or you will do it and withhold rent money until you are compensated for the repair costs.
Hand deliver the written notice if possible, stay in a motel that has heat, make a claim against the landlord for the motel expense.

Answer 5

Its time to ratchet up the pressure. It may be that his maint people are uncooperative for some stupid reason. Send a certified letter, notifiying them of the problem, and acknowledging your rent will be withheld without prompt repair. Also, send a copy of the letter NOT certified. This makes sure they get it, even if no one is there to sign for it. State in your non-certified copy that "A copy of this complaint has been sent to you in certified mail." This way they know you are not fooling.
If this doesn't bring a prompt response, you need to decide if he wants to stay and slug it out, or if he wants to go. Then its time to seek legal help.
If he is on a month-to-month lease, he gives notice and then goes. If a longer lease, he will need to talk to local government or a lawyer.

Answer 6

He should look at his lease. It probably pays out what the landlord is responsible for in respect to maintaining the property. If the landlord is in violation I would notify the landlord that you intend to take them to small claims court. Give them a deadline and if they do not respond go to the courthouse and file a claim against them. You can represent yourself in small claims and the filing fee should not be to high. If you win part of the settlement will often be court cost. Good luck and do not let them push you around! Let them know what you intend to do and then do it if you don't get what you want.

Answer 7

I had a similar situation and i believe by NJ law (i think its a federal law) if you are the owner of the apartment, then you have to provide heat. it's a necessity (AC is a different story). I'd write a letter to the condo association//landlord and tell them that you have been in contact every day for a month, to no avail, and if the matter isn't fixed within the next few days that your consulting a lawyer.

Answer 8

If your landlord has failed to respond to repeated requests for repairs, you may be able to have a local building inspector determine whether the un-repaired problems certify your apartment "uninhabitable." If the condition of your apartment can be described in this way, you might want to consult an attorney or legal aid for information about breaking your lease or withholding rent until repairs are made. You may even be able to have your landlord arrested for negligence if the state of your apartment is certifiably dangerous to your health and well-being.
Before taking action against your landlord, be sure that the repairs in question are the responsibility of your landlord to conduct--if the damage resulted from your own destructive activities or negligence, the landlord is not required to pay to fix it. You'll also need to make sure that you made documentable written requests for the repairs in question, so take care to make these requests and keep dated copies.


Withholding rent is a last resort in "resolving" landlord problems, as it leaves you open to being evicted if you don't proceed carefully. Be sure to verify the legality of withholding rent before beginning to do so, as you don't want to be evicted for withholding rent if you only did so in response to uninhabitable conditions caused by your landlord. Withholding rent is usually best done with the aid of an escrow account, managed by your local court, to which you pay your rent in lieu of giving funds to your landlord. This way, the money is clearly available to the landlord as soon as the desired actions are taken.
You need to notify your landlord in writing of your intent to withhold rent, and explain your reasons for doing so. It may be helpful to include proof of your apartment's need for repairs (you do have pictures, right?) and your previous requests that the landlord make those repairs (you did make previous requests, right?). (If the answer to either of those parenthetical questions is "no," you have some work to do before you can think about withholding rent.) When you notify your landlord of your intent to withhold, you need to specify your reasons for withholding rent, what you want your landlord to do to rectify the situation, and how long you intend to withhold payments. Be aware that withholding rent is not an appropriate action to take if you simply don't have the funds

Answer 9

http://www.oag.state.md.us/Consumer/landlords.htm
Consumer Publications List

Landlords and Tenants: Tips on Avoiding Disputes
Maryland Attorney General's Office, Consumer Protection Division

This booklet provides you with information about Maryland landlord/tenant laws. It covers topics dealing with applications, leases, security deposits, rent escrow, lead paint hazards, eviction, and where to seek help if problems arise. In reviewing this material, keep in mind that many Maryland counties and Baltimore City have different landlord/tenant laws that may provide additional protections or require that you follow different procedures.

A free, printed copy of this booklet may be ordered by calling the Consumer Protection Division at [phone].

RENT ESCROW: WHEN THE LANDLORD FAILS TO MAKE REPAIRS
Q. During the winter months there was very little heat in Sally's apartment. After calling the landlord several times about the problem, she sent a written complaint that was ignored. Sally then reported this condition to the city housing inspector, who issued a notice of violation to the landlord. Can Sally stop paying rent until the landlord fixes the problem?
A. No, if she stopped paying rent the landlord could evict her. However, Sally has the right to have adequate heat in her apartment. By following certain steps, she can deposit her rent money into an escrow account established at the district court instead of paying rent to her landlord.

Under Maryland law, if a landlord fails to repair serious or dangerous defects in a rental unit, you have the right to pay your rent into an escrow account established at the local district court. But the law is very specific about the conditions under which rent may be placed in escrow. You must give the landlord proper notice and adequate time to make the repairs before you have the right to place rent in escrow. The escrow account can only be set up by the court.

The serious or dangerous conditions include, but are not limited to:

* Lack of heat, light, electricity or water, unless you are responsible for the utilities and the utilities were shut off because you didn't pay the bill.
* Lack of adequate sewage disposal; rodent infestation in two or more units.
* Lead paint hazards that the landlord has failed to reduce.
* The existence of any structural defect that presents a serious threat to your physical safety.
* The existence of any condition that presents a serious fire or health hazard.

Rent escrow is not provided for defects that just make the apartment or home less attractive or comfortable, such as small cracks in the floors, walls or ceiling.

In order to withhold rent for conditions that constitute a threat to life, health or safety you must notify the landlord by certified mail, or the landlord must receive notice of the violations from an appropriate government agency such as the local housing department.

The landlord then has a reasonable amount of time after receipt of the notice in which to correct the conditions. If the landlord fails to do this, you may go to court to file a rent escrow action asking to pay the rent to the court.

Before an escrow account can be established, the court will hold a hearing to listen to both sides of the story. If the facts call for a rent escrow account to be set up, the judge can take several actions, including returning all or part of the money to you as compensation, returning all or part of the money to you or the landlord in order to make repairs, or appointing a special administrator to ensure that the repairs are made. Once the escrow account is established, you must continue to regularly pay rent into this account.

Baltimore City has a rent escrow law that is very similar to the state law. Therefore, Baltimore residents must exercise their rent escrow rights under city law. If you reside in a county where such a rent escrow law has been adopted, you must follow procedures required in the local law for setting up an escrow account.

You also may withhold rent without establishing an escrow account, but you still must notify the landlord by certified mail of the problems in the unit and of your refusal to pay the rent. However, the landlord could take you to court and try to evict you. You then may defend yourself by telling the court your reasons for withholding rent. If the court agrees that the condition of your home or apartment poses a serious threat to your life, health or safety, you will be required at that time to put your rent payments into an escrow account until the dispute is resolved.

Besides rent escrow, what else can a tenant do if a landlord does not make repairs?
One thing a tenant can do is to report the landlord to local authorities. Under a law that was passed by the Maryland General Assembly in 1986, every county in the state must adopt a housing code that meets minimum statewide standards. Some counties and Baltimore City already have comprehensive housing and building codes that are enforced by local authorities. The local authorities will investigate your complaints and, if the landlord is cited for violations, repairs will have to be made.

Answer 10

Send the landlord a solicitors letter with a copy of the tenancy agreement.

Then he will respond