Q: Can I withhold my rent in my apartment so I can pay out of pocket to get stuff fixed?
I have been putting in maintenance requests for a lot of things in my apartment, like it's been 7 times and I've called the supervisor and I've called corporate of the apartments, no one has helped me not one time. They never fulfill my requests. So can I withhold rent to get stuff fixed ? How do I go about doing that if I can?
A: If the maintenance requests are such that need to be made as they materially affect your health and the costs are $100, you can write a notice to the landlord of the requested repairs that if they are not repaired within 14 days, that you will do so at their expense. If they don't make the repairs for under $100, you can have them done and present the invoice to the landlord and deduct the costs of repairs. Be advised that the repairs must materially affect your health if not corrected.
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