Tenants’ basic rights against landlords

If your landlord doesn’t fix the heat during winter, or you have a problem with electricity, running water etc. You have some rights as a tenant.
First of all, every residential house must afford you an “Implied warranty of habitability”. In property law context, the standard for implied warranty of habitability is that premises must be fit for basic human dwelling in other words the premises must be in livable condition. The appropriate standards may be supplied either by local housing code or case law.

Landlord is expected to fulfill an implied warranty of habitability by keeping basic structural elements of the building, including floors, stairs, walls, and roofs, safe and intact, maintaining all common areas, such as hallways and stairways, in a safe and clean condition, keeping electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems and elevators operating safely, supplying cold and hot water and heat in reasonable amounts, and in some cases, keeping the premises reasonably safe from the threat of foreseeable criminal acts and other intrusions. If landlord doesn’t comply with any of these, then landlord breaches the implied warranty of habitability.

Tenant’s rights when the implied warranty of habitability breached

1-Tenant may move out and end the lease but it doesn’t have to.
2- Tenant may make reasonable repairs and deduct their costs from future rent.
3- Tenant may reduce rent or withhold all rent until the court determines fair rental value. Typically, tenant must first place withheld rent into escrow to show his/her good faith.
4- Tenant may remain in possession, pay the rent and affirmatively seek money damages.

In the meantime, if tenant lawfully reports landlord for housing violations, landlord is barred from penalizing tenant, by, for example raising rent, ending the lease, harassing tenant or taking other retaliations.

In property law, every residential and commercial tenants have also “implied covenant of quiet enjoyment”. Implied covenant of quiet enjoyment means that tenant has a right to quiet use and enjoyment of the premises without interference from landlord.
Landlord’s breach of implied covenant of quiet enjoyment may lead to “constructive eviction”.
For example, if, every time it rains, tenant’s apartment floods, tenant has a claim for construction eviction to vacate the premises if three elements are met:
1- There must be substantial interference due to landlord’s actions or failures. It doesn’t have to be permanent a chronic problem is ok (i,e., when it rains)
2-Tenant must notify landlord of the problem and landlord must fail to act meaningfully.
3- Tenant must vacate the premises within a reasonable time after landlord fails to fix the problem.

By Metin Caglar, Esq. Property Law articles/ tenant- landlord issues