OK, in this post I want to answer a very common question I get from tenants so I can help you as a Landlord understand the matter better.
The question is of course, “If my Landlord doesn’t fix xyz, can I stop paying rent?”.
The simple answer is “no”. You must ALWAYS pay your rent. But you do have recourse using the Courts or Landlord and Tenant board. The tenant can file a complaint after first informing the Landlord in writing of the problem that needs fixed and waiting the time period in the act.
Recently, a Landlord came to me with this same question. The tenant was withholding money for repairs which were verbally explained to him and never written down (big mistake on the tenant’s part). He asked if the tenant was allowed to do this and I said no way!
It happened to be a particularly bad tenant the Landlord was trying to remove in order to sell the property anyway and the thing the tenant did not realize is he opened up the door that would have himself removed that much faster.
In other words, if the tenant is not paying rent, serve them with an eviction for non-payment of rent immediately. The process can be found in more detail under this blog post (How To Evict a Tenant).
OK, I happen to know this particular Landlord would NEVER let his properties get in bad shape and it was simply the tenants way to stop paying rent (AKA, steal from the Landlord).
So Landlords, never let a tenant not pay rent for any reason. If something needs fixed, have them submit in writing to you a maintenance request and FIX IT!
If you are a tenant that happens upon this post, be sure to be active in your tenancy. If work is required and is not being completed, don’t just stop paying rent (as you are going to be kicked out for this). Instead, use the process the legal system has in place to remedy it.
As always, good luck with your own rentals.
Best, John
John J. Adams, Rental Sytstem Expert.
