Q: Who can I report my landlord to for not making major repairs and how do i do a retaliation suit to fight eviction?
Landlord agreed to accept payment plan but then i asked him to make the major repairs (like giving us our own heating unit and fixing the lights and electrical outlets that did not work) he promised to fix months ago. He refused and is not evicting us. I contacted the building inspector who did an inspection and found the unit is in violation of many codes including lots of electrical codes and we don’t have our own heat. The duplex isn’t even registered as a rental or duplex. It’s registered as an unoccupied unit. While we have been waiting to go to court for the eviction the toilet broke and the electric outlets are making a loud noise but the landlord blocked me and won’t take my calls or fix anything while we are here. We found a new place but since the landlord did not tell us the electric inspection failed multiple times, told us he would figure something out for heat before it got cold, and promised to make other repairs but didn’t and all these failing codes, can i sue him ?
A: If you are current on your rent and have given your landlord notice and a reasonable amount of time to fix the problems, then you can terminate your lease, deposit your rent in escrow with the Court, or ask the Court to reduce the amount of rent you have to pay until the issues are fixed. Since your landlord has already filed an eviction against, you may be able to file an answer and allege that your landlord retaliated against you because he would not allow the payment plan arrangement to continue after you reported necessary repairs. I recommend reaching out to your local legal aid organization.
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