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Should I pay rent?
Anonymous2 views1 answers
water heater had been "fixed" 4 times. now leaking again causing damage to wall, belongings, and floor. fridge broke lost at least $150 in food. were infested with ants. Landlord has been notified of all problems plus other ones that I wrote a letter to him about a month ago of. (broken trim with nails exposed (i have a 2 yr old and a 3 yr old), broken tiles in kitchen, missing some windows and screens, plugs arent up to date, ect.) I don't think I should have to pay rent until it is all fixed.
Dear Lakeville Tenant:
You may be right that you should not need to pay rent to live in a dilapidated house, but if you choose that path, do so with an attorney at your side.
Your landlord will sue you for not paying rent. If a judge agrees that the defective conditions did not warrant holding back 100% of the rent, your landlord may "prevail" in the lawsuit. If your lease allows for the landlord the right to recover his legal fees, a judge may tack those costs on to any rent balance you owe.
You may find bringing code enforcement inspectors into the house to report violations may go a long way to proving your claim that the landlord's failure to repair is a breach of the statutory Warranty of Habitability. Your lawyer may also protect you from a lawsuit if you hold back rent to force repairs while making a deal to permanently abate a part of the rent when the landlord properly deals with the problems. Your lawyer may also suggest that you are better off negotiating your family out from the lease if it seems your landlord continues to prove incapable of properly maintaining and repairing your home.
