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If my landlord refuses to make critical home repairs, arm I able to contest or discount my rental payment?
I have a tenant who has not paid all of his back rent. He says he shouldn’t have to since there was a month when his apartment bathroom needed repairs. Those repairs have now been made. What should I do?
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Answers (1)
Landlord and tenant rights are not always “black and white,” even with a strong lease to support them. If you believe you’re dealing with a good tenant you’d like to keep, you might consider offering him a percentage discount on the month when the bathroom plumbing was in disrepair. Your tenant may have even incurred some other reasonable expenses if he had to stay in a hotel while you finished making the repairs. It may be worth your while to make a written concession for part or all of that month. Seriously consider contacting a local attorney for his advice.
If you believe you made all of the plumbing repairs in a timely fashion or if the tenant had a second working bathroom, then perhaps you should demand full and immediate payment of the entire back rent owing.
Ask your attorney to carefully review all of the facts of your situation with you so you can take the most appropriate action.
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Posted by Elizabeth Smith on 22 Jan 2010
2people found this useful
(6 Votes)