Must a tenant pay full rent if their apartment is in disrepair?
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Must a tenant pay full rent if their apartment is in disrepair?
After hurricane and constant rains, we have wet walls, carpet, water dripping from the ceiling (and we keep changing buckets for it). There is even mushroom start growing through the wall because of it wetness. It’s not a first issue. We’ve been waiting for a year for them to fix the wall after another leak. Am I eligible to ask for a rent discount?
Asked on September 9, 2011 under Real Estate Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
In all states in this country the landlord is required to provide safe and habitable premises for his or her tenant. If the tenant rents premises which happen to be uninhabitable later on due to circumstances such as a fire or flooding not caused by the tenant, the tenant is not obligated to pay any further rent for the property since the basis for the consideration for the monthly payments have substantially changed.
In your situation, if the rental has water damage and the beginnng of mold growth, its condition potentially may be unsafe for occupation resulting in your evacuation. At best given the conditions what you have described, you should be entitled to a reduction in the monthly rent until the landlord makes the necessary repairs.
Good luck.
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