Rent withholding

Do not just stop paying rent because the heat is out. A landlord can start an eviction case (a court case to remove you from the home) when rent is not paid. Do not hold back rent or subtract the cost of a heater from your rent on your own. First talk to a lawyer or a housing services office about your state's rules.

Do not just stop paying rent, even when the landlord ignores your requests. A landlord can start an eviction case (a court case to remove you from the home) when rent is not paid. Before you hold back rent or pay for a repair yourself, talk to a lawyer or a housing services office about your state's rules.

Alabama law does not let you stop paying rent just because your landlord has not made repairs.

Under New Mexico law, you cannot end your lease or lower your rent over a repair problem you caused. This covers a problem caused on purpose or through carelessness. It covers you, a member of your family, or someone else there with your consent.

If your landlord does not fix a repair problem within 7 days of your written notice, you can lower your rent. This is called abating rent. You take off one third of your daily rent for each day, counted from the day you gave notice until the repair. If your daily rent is $30, you take off $10 a day. Broken amenities (extras whose absence would not seriously affect health, safety or fitness to live in) do not count. Lowering your rent is risky. Ask a legal aid lawyer first.

Say your landlord does not fix a repair problem within 7 days of your written notice. Your home may then be unfit to live in (uninhabitable), and you are not living there because of it. If so, you owe no rent for each day from your notice until the fix. Broken amenities (extras whose absence would not seriously affect health, safety or fitness to live in) do not count. Moving out and not paying rent is risky. If your landlord disagrees, you could owe that rent.

Arizona law says you cannot hold back rent unless a specific rule in Arizona's landlord and tenant law allows it.

If your landlord does not supply required water, heat, gas, electric service, air conditioning or cooling, you can move to temporary substitute housing. You do not have to pay rent while you are there. If the substitute housing costs more than your rent, you can get back up to 25% of the skipped rent. On a $1,000 rent, 25% is $250: that is the most extra money you could get back to cover the higher cost. This is risky: you must pay for the substitute housing yourself first and prove what you paid.

Arkansas law does not let a tenant offset (subtract from) or withhold (hold back) rent for any alleged or actual violation of the repair standards. The same law says nothing in its chapter excuses a tenant from paying rent.

You may be able to hold back part of your rent if the landlord does not keep the home fit to live in. You can also consider moving out, even if you signed a lease. Talk to a lawyer or legal services before you do either one.

Tell your landlord about serious repairs. If they do not make them in a reasonable time, you may hold back some or all rent. The problems must be serious ones that threaten your health or safety. You, your family, guests, or pets must not have caused the problem. A court sets the fair rent you still owe while the home breaks housing codes. If you lose in court, you pay the rent and the landlord's court costs, and can be evicted. Talk to legal aid or a lawyer first.

Rent withholding (stopping or holding back part of your rent) has a risk. Your landlord may give you a notice to pay rent or move out, then file an eviction case. You can raise the problems as a defense in court. Then the judge decides if they were a serious breach of the landlord's duty to keep the home fit to live in. If the court agrees, it sets a lower rent for the time the home was unfit.

You can also pay less rent while a serious problem continues. Send written notice stating the amount that reflects the unit's reduced value and keep proof of the notice. If 14 days pass without a fix, hold back that stated amount each month until repairs happen. If you hold back rent before the 14 days pass, your landlord can file an eviction case. Holding back more than half the rent adds risk.

If your landlord takes you to court to evict you or to collect rent you owe, you have an option. You can say your landlord failed to keep your home fit to live in. You can use this as your defense in that case.

Your landlord must make repairs to keep your home fit to live in, and follow codes that seriously affect health and safety. This does not cover damage that you, your family, or a guest you allowed in caused on purpose. If your landlord does not, Connecticut law says your landlord cannot legally collect rent for that time. A court decides this, not you on your own. If a court later disagrees, you can owe the rent and face eviction. Get legal help first.

Once you file this case, you pay your rent to the court clerk instead of your landlord. Pay by your rent due date or within 9 days after. If you pay rent weekly, you have 4 days instead. The clerk gives you a receipt, and this payment counts the same as paying your landlord directly. While the clerk holds your rent, your landlord cannot start a court case to evict you for not paying it. If you miss a payment to the clerk, the court can end your case.

Say your landlord substantially fails to provide hot water, heat, water or electricity. This lasts 48 hours or more after you give actual or written notice. You may give written notice and keep 2/3 of the per diem (daily) rent for any period the service is not supplied. The landlord may avoid this by showing it was impossible to perform. Example: $900 rent for 30 days is $30 a day, so you keep $20 a day. If a court later disagrees, you can owe the rent and face eviction. Get legal help first.

Your landlord may ask a court for possession (the right to take back the home). The landlord may claim you held back or took off rent without a legal right. If the court agrees, the landlord gets either possession or the amount held back. If the court finds you acted in bad faith, the landlord gets double that amount. Example: $200 held back becomes $400.

You can also stop paying rent after giving your landlord the same 7-day written notice.

This can be your legal defense if your landlord later takes you to eviction court for not paying rent.

The notice must describe the problem and say you plan to stop paying rent because of it.

Stopping rent is risky. If you do not follow the court's rules exactly, you could lose this defense and be evicted.

If your landlord sues you in court after you stop paying rent, you must pay rent into the court's account.

This includes rent you owe now and rent that comes due later.

You have 5 business days after you are served with the case papers to pay, or to ask the court to decide the amount. The clock starts the day you are served.

If you miss this deadline, you lose every defense except proof that you already paid, and the court can order your eviction right away.

In Georgia, the state housing agency handbook says you generally must keep paying rent, even if your landlord fails to make repairs. If you do not pay rent when it is due, the landlord can begin the eviction (court case to make you leave) process. Holding back rent is risky. If a court later disagrees, you can owe the rent and face eviction. Get legal help first.

Generally, Idaho law does not allow you to hold back rent because of unsafe living conditions. If you do and a court later disagrees, you can owe the rent and face eviction. Get legal help first.

Do not just stop paying rent because of repair problems. Your landlord can still sue you for unpaid rent in court. A judge decides how much of the rent you held back, if any, you truly do not owe. Keep any rent you hold back in a separate account so you can pay it if the judge orders you to.

In a 2023 Indiana Court of Appeals case, a renter moved out and stopped paying rent after a dispute over the condition of the house. The court said she was not excused from paying rent and utilities (home service bills) from October to February. It found she did not give the landlord a reasonable opportunity to fix problems she identified after moving in. One judge agreed in part and disagreed in part. If a court later disagrees, you can owe the rent and face eviction. Get legal help first.

Kentucky cities and counties may adopt the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. Where adopted, you cannot stop paying your rent or put it in a separate account until repairs are made.

Your landlord has 14 days after your written notice to fix a major failure to keep your home fit to live in, or reasonably try. If not, you can withhold rent that comes due until your landlord fixes it or tries in good faith. You will not owe late fees or notice charges for it. You must deposit the withheld rent into an escrow account (an account the court keeps or approves). Without that deposit, withholding is no defense to an eviction. This step is risky. Ask legal aid first.

If your landlord does not fix the problem within a reasonable time, you can ask a court for help. Maryland law lets you pay your rent into the court instead of to your landlord. This is called a rent escrow case (paying rent to the court instead of your landlord). You can only use this option if you gave proper notice. You also cannot use it after 3 eviction judgments (court decisions giving your landlord the home). This counts ones for unpaid rent in the past 12 months. That limit is for monthly rent. If you pay rent weekly, the limit is more than 5 such judgments. It is 3 if you have lived there 6 months or less.

Instead of filing first, you can wait and raise the problem as your defense in court. Your landlord might sue you for unpaid rent or to remove you from your home. This choice is risky. If the court does not agree the problem was serious enough, you can still owe the back rent and be removed from your home. You also cannot use this defense after 3 eviction judgments (court decisions giving your landlord the home). This counts ones for unpaid rent in the past 12 months. That limit is for monthly rent. If you pay rent weekly, the limit is more than 5 such judgments. It is 3 if you have lived there 6 months or less.

Once the court is holding your rent, a judge can order that some or all of that money go toward repairs. The court can send the money to your landlord, to you, to another person, or to an agency, so the repairs get done. The court can also appoint someone to manage the repairs and pay for them from that money.

If your landlord makes no repairs, or no good faith (honest) effort to fix them, the court can pay you back. This can happen if 6 months have passed since the court first ordered your rent paid into court, if you ask. Your landlord can ask a judge to pause that order while they appeal.

If your landlord will not make repairs, you may be able to hold back part of your rent or move out. This is true even if you have a lease. Both choices carry legal risk. Talk to a private lawyer or a legal aid group before you hold back rent or move out.

You cannot just stop paying rent on your own because of a repair problem. Usually, in cities, villages, and townships with 10,000 people or more, a hazard can suspend your rental certificate (a paper saying your building passed inspection). This does not cover a private or 2-family home in a city, village, or township under 100,000 people, unless adopted by resolution. When that happens, you can pay rent into an escrow account (money held by the local government) instead of to your landlord. Your landlord first gets reasonable time to fix the problem after being told about it. This does not apply if your landlord shows that you or your household caused the hazard.

Usually, cities, villages, and townships with 10,000 people or more let you pay rent into an escrow account (money held by the local government). This does not cover a private or 2-family home in a city, village, or township under 100,000 people, unless adopted by resolution. You do this instead of paying your landlord directly, if a hazard suspends your rental certificate (a paper saying your building passed inspection). If you skip this and just stop paying instead, your landlord can still sue you for the rent and to remove you.

If your landlord takes you to court for unpaid rent, you can tell the judge about it. You can say your landlord broke a promise in the lease that excuses your unpaid rent. If the judge agrees, you will not be ordered to move out for that unpaid rent.

For a problem found by a code inspection, you must first let the repair time pass without the problem being fixed. Only then can you deposit rent with the court. You can skip the wait only if you believe the time given was too long.

If your landlord misses the time given to fix a problem, you can use rent escrow (paying rent to the court, not your landlord). While the problem is not fixed, you must keep depositing rent with the court as it becomes due. You cannot simply stop paying rent on your own. If your landlord says you did not deposit the full amount, your landlord can ask the court for possession of your home. This is heard in the same case.

If a court appoints a receiver for your building, you must pay your rent to that receiver instead of your landlord. Paying the receiver this way is a legal defense against an eviction case. It only covers rent that came due after the court's order.

You can hold back rent that comes due until your landlord fixes a material problem (a real, serious one). Your landlord can instead make a real effort to fix it. If a court later disagrees, you can owe the rent and face eviction. Get legal help first. Nevada courts require you to pay the rent you are holding back into a court-approved account. If you do not, you cannot use this as a defense if your landlord takes you to court.

A New Hampshire court will not let an eviction case for unpaid rent go forward in some cases. This is when the home is in substantial violation of the health and safety fitness standards in RSA 48-A or in local codes. The violation must materially affect how fit the home is to live in. The home must be rented to live in, not for vacation or recreation. The tenant must meet 4 conditions.

The New Hampshire repair defense to an eviction for unpaid rent does not apply in 2 cases. One is when the violations were caused by the tenant, a family member, or another person there with the tenant's consent. The other is when extreme weather prevented necessary repairs, or the tenant did not allow the landlord reasonable access to the home.

To use the New Hampshire repair defense to an eviction for unpaid rent, you must give notice while not in arrears (behind on rent). Holding back rent over repairs is risky. If a court later disagrees, you can owe the rent and face eviction. Get legal help first.

In a New Hampshire eviction case, a tenant may raise the repair defense. The court may then put the case off for a reasonable time of up to one month. The time lets the landlord fix the violation. When it does this, the court requires the tenant to pay into court any rent held back. The tenant must pay rent that comes due after into court as it comes due.

In a New Hampshire eviction case with a repair defense, suppose the landlord fixes the violation within the extra time the court gave. The court then dismisses the eviction case. It either gives the held-back rent to the landlord, or splits the rent paid into court. The landlord gets the fair rental value of the home while it was in the substantially defective condition. The tenant gets the rest, as money for breach of the warranty of habitability (the duty to keep the home fit to live in). You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

In a New Hampshire eviction case with a repair defense, suppose the violation is not fixed within the extra time the court gave. The court then enters judgment (a final court decision) for the tenant. The court also refunds to the tenant all the money the tenant paid into court.

You may hold back part or all of your rent if your landlord does not fix a vital facility problem after you gave proper notice. If your landlord then takes you to court for not paying rent, you must be ready to pay the full amount you owe. The judge may order you to give that rent money to the court to hold until the case is over. Save the rent you hold back so you have it ready.

To use a repair problem as your defense in court, you must deposit all the rent due with the court. You must also be able to show, with photos or other evidence, that part of your home is not fit to live in. You must show that you told your landlord and gave a chance to fix it, and that you did not cause it.

Write to your landlord describing the repair problem. If your landlord does not fix it within 7 days of your notice, you can lower your rent. You can lower it by one third for each day the problem continues, counted from the day you gave notice. For example, if your daily rent is $30, that is about $10 off for each day. This does not cover amenities (extras that would not seriously affect your health, safety, or whether your home is fit to live in). If a court later disagrees, you can owe the rent and face eviction. Get legal help first.

This rule is for a New Mexico home that is not fit to live in because of a repair problem. First give your landlord written notice. Your landlord then has 7 days to fix it. If not, and you move out because the home is not fit to live in, you can lower your rent by 100%. For example, 100% of $900 rent is $900, so you pay nothing. That lasts until your landlord fixes it. This does not cover amenities (extras that would not seriously affect your health, safety, or whether your home is fit to live in). If a court later disagrees, you can owe the rent and face eviction. Get legal help first.

If your landlord still has not fixed the problem, you can lower your rent yourself. Take off one third of your daily rent for each day, counted from the day you gave notice until the repair is done. If your rent is $900 a month, your daily rent is about $30, and one third of that is $10 a day. If a court later disagrees, you can owe the rent and face eviction. Get legal help first.

Say your landlord still has not fixed the problem, and your home is now uninhabitable (not fit to live in) because of it. If you do not live there for that reason, you owe no rent for each day from your notice until the problem is fixed. If a court later disagrees, you can owe the rent and face eviction. Get legal help first.

You can sue for a rent cut when the landlord fails to keep your home fit to live in. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays. You can also hold back rent, but that has risk. The landlord may sue you for not paying rent. In that case you can fight back in court using the bad conditions as your defense.

North Carolina law does not let you decide on your own to stop paying rent because your landlord has not made repairs. A court must decide first.

You cannot simply stop paying rent because your landlord will not make repairs. Instead, Ohio law lets you use rent escrow (paying your rent to the court instead of your landlord). If you stop paying rent without doing this, your landlord can evict you for not paying rent. You pay the rent to the clerk of the municipal or county court where your home is located.

A serious problem such as no heat, no water, or no electricity can make your home unsafe or unfit to live in. After you give your landlord written notice and reasonable time to fix it, you can move to a temporary home while it is broken. You do not have to pay your regular rent for that time. If a court later disagrees, you can owe the rent and face eviction. Get legal help first.

In Pennsylvania cities, a state law called the Rent Withholding Act lets you stop paying your landlord in certain cases. This applies when the city health or inspections department certifies (officially declares) the home unfit to live in. After that, you pay the full rent into escrow (a separate bank account, approved by the city or county, that holds the money). You pay it there instead of paying your landlord. Get legal help first. A mistake here can lead to an eviction case.

Pennsylvania's Rent Withholding Act lets you stop paying rent once the city officially says your home is not fit to live in. The law names the Department of Licenses and Inspections of a city of the first class (Philadelphia), and some health departments. If you keep living there, you must put the rent you held back into escrow (a bank account approved by the city or county). Get legal advice first. A mistake could lead to eviction if a court finds you broke the lease.

Rhode Island law covers a landlord who fails to supply heat, running water, hot water, electric, gas, or other essential service. The failure must be willful (on purpose) or negligent (careless). You may give reasonable notice and get reasonable substitute housing. Rhode Island law then excuses you from paying rent for the period the landlord fails to comply. If a court later disagrees, you can owe the rent and face eviction. Get legal help first.

If your landlord takes you to court for not paying rent, you can defend yourself. You can rely on your lease or South Carolina's renter law to defend yourself. This is risky. If a judge decides your defense has no merit and was not raised honestly, your landlord can make you pay their lawyer's fees.

If your landlord did not properly maintain your home, that can be a defense in an eviction case for not paying rent. You lose that defense for problems that are not about essential services (water, heat, or electricity). That applies if you did not warn your landlord about the problem at least 14 days before rent was due. For essential services, you lose that defense if your landlord did not have a reasonable chance to make emergency repairs before rent was due.

In South Dakota, necessary repairs may cost more than one month's rent. Then you may hold back rent after written notice stating the specific reason. You must immediately put the rent in a separate bank or savings and loan account. You must give your landlord written evidence of the deposit. If a court later disagrees, you can owe the rent and face eviction. Get legal help first.

In South Dakota, you may hold back rent because necessary repairs cost more than one month's rent. The account is kept only to make repairs. When the landlord makes the repairs, you must release the money to the landlord. Otherwise it stays until enough money builds up for the repairs to be made and paid for. If a court later disagrees, you can owe the rent and face eviction. Get legal help first.

Texas does not allow you to hold back rent because repairs are not made. If you stop paying, the landlord can warn you in writing, then sue you for 1 month's rent plus $500 and attorney's fees. On $1,000 rent that is $1,500 plus fees. Being behind on rent also ends the landlord's duty to repair. Keep paying rent on time while you go through the steps.

A Utah renter can choose rent abatement (the law's name for stopping your rent) in a notice about a problem with the home. Suppose the owner takes no substantial action toward fixing it before the corrective period (the time to fix it) ends. That period is 3 or 10 calendar days, by the kind of problem. Then the rent is abated (stopped) as of the date of the notice, and the rental agreement ends. The renter must leave within 10 calendar days after that period ends. A renter who is not in compliance with all requirements of Section 57-22-5 cannot use this option. If a court later disagrees, you can owe the rent and face eviction. Get legal help first.

A renter who is not in compliance gets no rent abatement (ended rent) or repair and deduct (take the cost off rent) choice in Utah. The renter must meet all requirements under Section 57-22-5. One is being current on all payments required by the rental agreement.

In Vermont, you may withhold (hold back) rent for the period of a problem. This applies if the landlord does not meet the rules for a home fit to live in. The landlord must have actual notice from you, a government agency, or a qualified independent inspector. The landlord must fail to repair within a reasonable time. The problem must materially affect health and safety. Withholding rent is risky. If a court later disagrees, you can owe the rent and face eviction. Get legal help first.

Before you ask a court to hold your rent, you must have told your landlord about the problem in writing. A state or local inspector's notice about the problem also counts. Virginia courts usually treat more than 30 days from when your landlord got your notice as too long to wait for a fix.

If your landlord still does not fix a serious problem, you can file a tenant's assertion (a filing asking for help fixing the problem). You file it in the general district court, Virginia's lower civil court. Covered problems include no light, no electricity, no working sewage system, and rodents. No heat, or no hot or cold water, counts too, unless that bill is yours to pay and you did not pay it.

If you file a tenant's assertion asking a court to hold your rent, you must keep paying rent. You pay it into the court instead of your landlord. You must pay within 5 days of the date rent is normally due under your lease. If you stop paying rent instead of paying the court, your landlord can take you to court for unpaid rent.

If a court agrees your landlord did not fix a real problem, it can use rent paid into the court for repairs. The court can also lower your rent for the time the problem lasted. If your landlord still does not make repairs within a reasonable time, the court can order that rent be paid back to you.

If the inspection confirms the problem, you can put your rent in escrow (a locked account held by a neutral party). This replaces paying your landlord directly. First, you must decide in good faith that you cannot fix the problem yourself. This means you cannot use repair and deduct (paying for it yourself and taking the cost out of your rent). Then, deposit your rent with a company that holds this account, a bank, an attorney, or the court clerk where the property is located.

If you stay living in your home after it becomes legally unfit to live in, your rent can go down. This only happens if the problem materially affects (really affects) your health or safety, or substantially affects how you use your home. Your rent goes down by the amount you are deprived of full normal use of your home. Wisconsin law does not let you stop paying rent completely while you stay in your home. This rule does not apply if you caused the problem yourself through carelessness or misuse.