Your landlord is responsible for keeping your rental unit safe and habitable. When your landlord fails to make needed repairs, and your ability to live safely in the property is affected, you have options—including suing your landlord.
Before you attempt to sue, though, you’ll need to do some homework: Each state has different laws regarding how tenants can respond when landlords fail to uphold their basic responsibilities—you’ll want to make sure you follow these rules before heading to court. Also, you might want to try to resolve the problem out of court—due to the time and expense you’ll spend pursuing a lawsuit, you should consider it your last option.
Does the Issue Impact Habitability or Your Health?
You can’t sue your landlord for refusing to make just any repair—it must be one that, if it’s not fixed, makes it unsafe or unhealthy for you to live in the rental. For example, landlords are legally responsible for taking care of issues such as electrical defects, broken windows, and vermin infestations.
Minor repair issues such as a cracked light fixture, faded paint, or an unreliable washing machine usually aren’t serious enough to warrant a lawsuit because they don’t impact the habitability of the property.
Know Your State and Local Laws
Landlord repair and maintenance responsibilities vary based on where you live. Familiarize yourself with your state and local housing laws before you decide to pursue a lawsuit.
For example, state or local law might require you to give your landlord written notice of any defects impacting habitability. These laws might also require you to give your landlord a certain amount of time to remedy the problem before you can file a lawsuit.
Give Your Landlord Reasonable Time to Make the Repair
Some habitability repairs might be straightforward, such as a installing a new thermostat to ensure working heat. Others might take more time to fix. While you might want instant relief, it might not be reasonable to expect a quick remedy for a serious problem. For example, a damaged roof will take a lot longer to fix than a basic heater repair.
You’ll need to be reasonable about the amount of time you give your landlord to make the repair. Some state and local laws stipulate how much time landlords have to fix major repairs—usually anywhere between 24 hours and a few days. And, so long as your landlord makes good faith efforts to have the repair made, no court will fault your landlord for delays (such as a necessary part that needs to be ordered) that are beyond your landlord’s control. Instead, you’ll want to start thinking about taking legal action if your landlord takes an abnormally long time to fix something in your rental without good reason.
Try Other Legal Options Before You Sue Your Landlord
Depending on where you live, you might have other options to try before pursuing a legal action against your landlord. Many states—but not all—allow tenants to:
- call state or local building or health inspectors
- withhold rent until a repair is made
- pay to repair the problem and deduct the cost from rent, or
- move out without having to pay for the remaining rent.
In states where any of these is a legal remedy for tenants, there might be limits on the remedy (such as not spending more than one month’s rent on a repair that you plan to deduct from rent) or procedural requirements that tenants must follow (such as depositing withheld rent into an escrow account).
No matter what option you pursue, be sure to make all repair requests in writing and keep copies of any correspondence with your landlord. A paper trail of the repair request and outcome will be valuable if you end up suing your landlord.
Suing Your Landlord in Small Claims Court
All states except Arkansas (which doesn’t recognize the implied warranty of habitability on the state level) permit you to sue your landlord if your rental is not habitable. You can sue your landlord for refusing to make repairs whether or not you decide to move out.
Suing your landlord is a worthwhile option only if it’s safe to keep living in the rental. For example, if one toilet won’t flush in a two-bathroom rental, it might be easier to stay and sue the landlord instead of going through the hassle of moving, arranging for the repair, or dealing with rent withholding. But you wouldn’t want to stay in the rental and sue if it were only a one-bathroom rental and you had no access to a working toilet.
For most tenants, small claims court is the most efficient way to sue a landlord who refuses to make repairs. Each state has its own rules for small claims court dollar limits and procedures.
If your state does not have specific requirements for tenants dealing with a landlord who won’t make repairs, you’ll want to write your landlord a demand letter before you file a lawsuit. Make sure that the letter clearly describes what repairs need to be made, when you expect them to be done, and your intent to sue if they’re not. You'll also need to prepare to successfully present your case in small claims court: Keep a copy of the demand letter for your records, and be sure to send the letter return-receipt requested, so you have proof that your landlord actually received the letter. You can follow up with a copy of the letter via e-mail or other electronic means if you wish, but whenever you send a demand letter, you’ll want to use a physical document that you can produce in court (if that ends up being necessary).
What You Can Expect From Suing Your Landlord?
What you can sue your landlord for depends on the laws of your state. In some states, you can sue a landlord for any property losses associated with your unlivable rental unit, such as damaged furniture or other personal belongings. You can also ask for the difference between the monthly rent and the diminished value of the rental unit in its unrepaired condition, times the number of months you lived with the condition that needs repair.
Some states permit you to ask the court to order the landlord to fix any defects and allow for reduced rent until the problems are repaired. You might also be able to sue a landlord for injuries like pain and suffering that were caused by the uninhabitable housing conditions.
If you do decide to sue your landlord, keep in mind that there are always risks associated with doing so. If you’re close to the end of your lease, or if you rent month-to-month, your disgruntled landlord could decide to terminate or not renew your lease. Most states have anti-retaliation laws that protect you from being evicted for exercising a legal right like suing for a breach of the warranty of habitability, but you’ll need to bring a separate lawsuit to make this type of claim. Also, if your lawsuit is successful, you will still need to collect on the judgment.
A good place to start if you’re planning to sue your landlord for refusing to make repairs is to contact a local attorney who has experience in landlord-tenant law. An experienced attorney can help make sure you have a valid claim and help you gather all the evidence you need to prove and prevail in your case.