Is my landlord required to pay for expenses that I incurred while not being able to use my home due to structural repairs?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Is my landlord required to pay for expenses that I incurred while not being able to use my home due to structural repairs?
Including lost wages?
Asked on September 10, 2012 under Real Estate Law, Texas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
If you were denied use or possession of your home for some reason not your fault, your landlord should have to pay for additional living expenses you incurred during that time--e.g. the difference between your rent for that period and the cost of staying in a hotel or motel, if the hotel or motel was more expensive. It is not obligated to pay for lost wages, since there is no direct causal link between not using your home and not being able to work (nothing stops you from working while living elsewhere) and it's not sufficiently foreseeable that not living in your home would deprive you of the ability to work (people regularly work even while staying with friends, families, at a hotel, etc.).
If you caused the condition that required the repairs, the landlord does not owe you any compensation, and could even seek its own costs from you.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.