Do Landlords Have to Do Maintenance On Rented Houses?

Maintenance Requirements

Most state and local ordinances require that landlords maintain their rental properties in habitable conditions. They must comply with all building, housing and health codes that affect their tenants’ health and quality of life, and they must respond to their tenants’ requests for needed maintenance and repairs within a reasonable amount of time. Leases typically specify which maintenance is to be performed by the tenant and which by the landlord. Unless damage is caused by the abuse or the negligence of the tenant, all structural and mechanical maintenance and repairs are typically the landlord’s responsibility.

Types of Maintenance

Rental maintenance is generally divided into three distinct categories, each with its own response requirements. The highest-priority maintenance category is an emergency situation that endangers the health or life of individuals, or that causes structural damage to the property. Leaking gas, sparking electrical connections, flooding and the loss of heat in winter, for instance, are emergencies that must be resolved within 24 hours. Major maintenance problems, such as clogged drains, inoperative hot water heaters and the like don’t endanger lives, but do affect the quality of life and should therefore be repaired within 48 to 72 hours.

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Notification Requirements

Unless a life-threatening or property-damaging emergency exists, most jurisdictions require a landlord to give a minimum of a 24 hours’ notice before entering the property to make the necessary repairs. Unless an emergency exists, a tenant may ask for a reasonable rescheduling of the repair if the landlord’s intended repair visit is inconvenient, and if the rescheduling will not exasperate the maintenance issue.

Failure to Do Maintenance

A landlord’s failure to perform necessary repairs is a violation of the lease’s terms and conditions unless other, legal alternate provisions were previously agreed to. A tenant must advise the landlord in writing of the nature of the required repairs or risk being held financially responsible for any damage that could have been prevented by the landlord’s maintenance. In the event that the landlord fails to respond to the tenant’s request for repairs, especially in an emergency or when habitability conditions have degraded, the tenant has legal recourse against the landlord.

Tenant’s Recourse

A tenant should always document all communications with the landlord in writing. Most states recognize a formal communication as having been done with certified U.S. postal mail, receipt requested. After the initial notice has been sent to the landlord, a follow-up letter within 48 hours is not unreasonable if the landlord has failed to contact the tenant. Thereafter, the tenant may contact local housing agencies and file a complaint against the landlord and discuss the matter with one of their counselors. With unresponsive landlords, the CEOP may advise tenants to exercise their rights under a “constructive eviction,” whereby they vacate the property without having to pay further rent. They will notify their landlords in writing of their actions and request the return of their security deposits.