Holding rent

1) That he has not paid taxes gives you no legal right to withhold his rent 2) That the home is in foreclosure gives you no legal right to withhold rent The two above situations are between him and the town and mortgage holder, you still owe him rent. 3) If you withhold for repairs, they must be fore SERIOUS issues, and you must put the entire rent into an escrow account for that purpose (so when a court decides whether you have the right to keep a part of it, he gets the rest)....he can still sue you for rent and if the contract allows for his legal fees in collecting it - even if he is not paying his mortgage or taxes.

I agree, whether or not the landlord is in foreclosure is not relevant to your agreement with the landlord. If it were relevant, the bank would have joined you in the foreclosure proceeding. So you have no right to withhold rent based upon your landlord's foreclosure. If that were the case, you'd be able to withhold rent because your landlord couldn't afford his car payments and cable bills. Habitability is another issue, it is not for minor little things. Because if your rent is $1000 per month and there is a $100 problem, you are supposed to just pay $900 and give the landlord the receipt for the $100 necessary repair. Habitability has to be something serious like windows that do not fully close causing freezing cold, actively leaking water, infestations, no heat where heat is supposed to be provided. A leaky faucet that could be fixed by calling a plumber for $75 is not a habitability issue. I have not seen tenants get good results with habitability issues for minor repairs that could have been done by the tenant and just subtracted from the rent. If it is a situation like no heat in the winter or a hole in the wall that is causing all the heat to go out the wall, active infestation or actively leaking water that is another story, the judge will likely grant a habitability defense. But the defense is not so the tenant does not pay rent and gets to live in the unit without paying. The defense is so the tenant can use the rent to make the repairs and a reduction in rent for having to live in such a terrible place. If the rent is not low and the tenant can freely afford to move elsewhere, the judge will consider that as a factor. Because no one would stay in a high rent apartment that could be easily replaced with a better apartment in the same area for the same price.

Since I practice in CA, not New Jersey, my response is pursuant to the CA law. In California a renter is permitted to deduct the cost of making a repair to the rented premises, if, after reasonable request to the landlord, the repair is not made. The repair must be one which is necessary to the habitability of the premises. However you have not asked a specific question. Just because a house is in foreclosure a renter must still pay the rent.