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Requireements Withhold Rent
The basic requirements and steps for using the rent withholding remedy are:
1. The defects or the repairs that are needed must threaten the tenant’s health or safety.168
• The defects must be serious enough to make the rental unit uninhabitable. For example, see the defects described in the discussion of the Green case.
2. The tenant, or the tenant’s family, guests, or pets must not have caused the defects that require repair.
3. The tenant must inform the landlord either orally or in writing of the repairs that are needed.
4. The tenant must give the landlord a reasonable period of time to make the repairs.
• What is a reasonable period of time? this depends on the defects and the type of repairs that are needed.
5. If the landlord doesn’t make the repairs within a reasonable period of time, the tenant can withhold some or all of the rent. The tenant can continue to withhold the rent until the landlord makes the repairs.
• How much rent can the tenant withhold? While the law does not provide a clear test for determining how much rent is reasonable for the tenant to withhold, judges in rent withholding cases often use one of the following methods. these methods are offered as examples.
Percentage reduction in rent: The percentage of the rental unit that is uninhabitable is determined, and the rent is reduced by that amount. For example, if one of a rental unit’s four rooms is uninhabitable, the tenant could withhold 25 percent of the rent. the tenant would have to pay the remaining 75 percent of the rent. Most courts use this method.
Reasonable value of rental unit: The value of the rental unit in its defective state is determined, and the tenant withholds that amount. the Tenant would have to pay the difference between the rental unit’s fair market value (usually the rent stated in the rental agreement or lease) and the rental unit’s value in its defective state.169
6. The tenant should save the withheld rent money and not spend it. The tenant should expect to have to pay the landlord some or all of the withheld rent.
• If the tenant withholds rent, the tenant should put the withheld rent money into a special bank account (called an escrow account). The tenant should notify the landlord in writing that the withheld rent money has been deposited in the escrow account, and explain why.
168 Brown, Warner and Portman, The California Landlord’s Law Book, Vol. I: Rights & Responsibilities, page 190 (NOLO Press 2009).
This is a blog post for Real Estate Professionals, Investors, Landlord, Property Manager, and Property Management Companies. Tenants Guide to basic requirements in Rent Withholding Remedy is brought to you by SimplifyEm Pay Rent Online and Property Management SoftwareYou might also want to read:
- Tenants Guide to the Abandonment Remedy in Repairs Instead of using the repair and deduct remedy, a tenant can abandon (move out of) a defective rental unit. This remedy is called the “abandonment” remedy. A tenant might use......
- Tenants Guide to Depositing Withheld Rent Money Depositing the withheld rent money in an escrow account is not required by law, but is a very good thing to do for three reasons. First, rent withholding cases often......
- Tenants Guide to Repair And Deduct Remedy in Repairs The “repair and deduct” remedy allows a tenant to deduct money from the rent, up to the amount of one month’s rent, to pay for repair of defects in the......
