Suing over repairs

You can sue your landlord in court for not keeping your home fit to live in. If you win, the court can order your landlord to pay you money for your losses. This can include the drop in your home's rental value while it was not fit to live in. The court can also order your landlord to pay your court costs and reasonable lawyer fees.

You can sue a landlord who does not repair. A judge may order the landlord to pay for harm caused by the failure to repair. This applies if the landlord had notice of certain problems and a chance to repair them but did not.

Suppose a condition in your home takes away a large part of what your rental agreement promised. Suppose your landlord caused it on purpose or carelessly. Then you may recover money for your loss. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

Say a listed problem has not been fixed 3 days after you served the notice. Then you can start a court case. You can ask for money the landlord must pay you and for a court order to do the work. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

If you win, the judge will order the landlord to comply with your notice of violation. The judge also may order the landlord to pay your court costs and attorney fees. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

If you are hurt because your landlord failed to maintain the property, you may sue for money for the harm. If you win, the judge may require the landlord to pay 3 times that money, plus attorney fees and court costs. For example, 3 times $1,000 is $3,000. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

If your home was not fit to live in, you may be able to sue for money the landlord must pay you. Courts compare the rent value of a fit home to its value in the actual condition, with the problems not fixed. This is called the difference in value method.

If you win a case to enforce your landlord's duties under Indiana Code 32-31-8, the court may order the landlord to pay money. That depends on what fits the case. The money can cover your actual losses, your attorney's fees, and court costs. The court can also order other fixes that fit the case.

You can sue your landlord for money and ask a judge to order the repairs made. Your landlord can avoid this if they prove they worked hard to fix the problem and the delay was reasonably beyond their control. If your landlord chose not to fix things, your landlord may also have to pay your attorney fees.

Your landlord may also fail to supply running water, hot water, heat, or other essential services (basic home services) on purpose or through carelessness. If this happens, you can ask a court for money instead. You can ask for money based on how much less your home was worth while the problem lasted. Or you can ask for a refund of the rent you already paid for that time, split by how many days the problem lasted.

If your landlord takes you to court for not paying rent, you can raise your landlord's repair failures as your own claim for money. The court can order you to pay some or all of the rent into court while the case continues, then decide who owes what. If your claim has no merit and you did not raise it in good faith, you may have to pay your landlord's attorney fees.

You can sue your landlord for money instead of ending your lease. You can also ask a court to order the repair. You can do this along with sending a written notice, or instead of it. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

A repair problem can be serious enough to badly limit your use of your home. If that happens, and it is not your fault, you can ask a court to lower your rent or end your lease. A court decides which one fits, based on both sides of the case.

You can file a complaint (the court papers that start your case) over a home that is not fit to live in. Then the court must enter temporary restraining orders (short-term court orders) as may be necessary. They protect the health or well-being of tenants or of the public. If the court finds your complaint true, it may order repairs. It may order your landlord to fix every condition that puts tenants' health or safety at risk or seriously harms it.

The court may decide what your home was worth to live in, from the day your landlord had actual notice until the condition is repaired. It may then declare what rent you owe your landlord. It may instead declare what rebate (money back) your landlord owes you for rent paid above that value. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

If a court rules for you after you paid rent into court over a repair problem, you can get back reasonable lawyer fees. You can also get back other reasonable costs of the case.

If you win your case, a court can order your landlord to pay you money. You get between 1 and 3 months' rent, or your actual losses if that is higher. For example, a $1,500 monthly rent means $1,500 to $4,500. You also get your court costs and a lawyer's fee paid back.

If you win a court case about repairs, the judge can order your landlord to fix the problem. The judge only does this if satisfied the fix will happen quickly. The judge can instead lower your rent for the time the problem was not fixed.

If you win your case, the court can order your landlord to pay up to $500 of your lawyer's fees. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

Except where Montana's landlord and tenant law says otherwise, you may recover money for your actual losses. You may get injunctive relief (a court order telling your landlord to act). This applies if your landlord breaks the rental agreement or your landlord's duties to maintain the home. Those duties include keeping the home fit to live in and keeping electric, plumbing, and heating in good working order. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

If your landlord fails to follow the rental agreement, you may ask a court for money. The same is true if your landlord fails to meet the duties in section 76-1419. Those duties include making repairs to keep the home fit to live in. They also include keeping plumbing, heating, and electrical working. You may also ask for injunctive relief (a court order that makes your landlord follow the law). If the failure is willful (on purpose), you may recover reasonable attorney's fees. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

Instead of holding back rent, you can go to court and ask for a rent cut because your home is not fit to live in. If the court agrees, you will owe rent based only on the fair value of your home in its actual condition. You may also ask the court to return part of the rent you already paid.

If your landlord seriously breaks the lease or the state repair rules, you can sue for money for the harm caused. You can also ask a court to order the repair. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays. Whoever wins this kind of lawsuit can also make the other side pay reasonable lawyer fees and court costs.

You can ask a court to order repairs without waiting to be sued. You file a petition in your county, city, district, town, or village justice court. The court can order the landlord to fix code violations or conditions that break the warranty of habitability (your home must be fit to live in). The clerk sends a copy to the local code office.

You can also sue your landlord in housing court to force repairs. This case is called an HP action. A judge can order the landlord to fix the violations. You do not need a lawyer to start one. Ask the housing court clerk to help you file.

If your landlord breaks the repair duties in North Dakota Century Code sections 47-16-13.1 through 47-16-13.6, you may recover appropriate money for the harm. You have a duty to limit the loss. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

Any right or action under North Dakota Century Code sections 47-16-13.1 through 47-16-13.6 is enforceable by action (a court case). The court may award reasonable attorney's fees to the prevailing party (the side that wins). You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

Unless Oregon renter law says otherwise, your landlord can owe you money for breaking the rental agreement. The same goes for not keeping your home fit to live in. A court can order this money, and can also order your landlord to fix the problem.

If you stay and you cannot use part of the home, a court can cut the rent by the share you lost. Example: if defects took away 25% of the use of a home renting for $800, the cut is $200, and you owe $600. Courts call this rent abatement (a cut in the rent you owe).

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 that names the breach. You may then recover money the landlord must pay you, based on the drop in the fair rental value of your home. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

Suppose your Rhode Island landlord sues to evict you (an action for possession) because you did not pay rent. You may counterclaim (make your own claim in the same case). You may claim any amount you may recover under your rental agreement or the state rental law. The court may order you to pay all or part of the rent owed and later rent into court. If no rent remains due after that, judgment (the court's decision) is for you in the eviction case. If your defense or counterclaim is frivolous (not serious) or has no basis in fact, your landlord may recover reasonable attorney's fees. You get money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

You can sue your landlord in magistrate's or circuit court for money you lost from a broken repair duty or lease term. You do not have to post a bond to file this case. If your lease ends because your landlord failed to fix the problem after your 14-day written notice, your landlord must return your deposit. This is required under South Carolina's security deposit law. If your landlord's failure to fix the problem was done on purpose, you can also make your landlord pay your reasonable lawyer's fees. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

An appeals court quoted a rule from the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. A renter may ask for money, a court order making the landlord act, and reasonable lawyer fees. The renter must first give 14 days' written notice of the landlord's failure to follow the lease or the act. Another part of the act may change this rule. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

You can sue your landlord in a repair lawsuit. The court can order the landlord to make the repair. It can cut your rent from the date of your first notice until the repair is done. It can make the landlord pay you 1 month's rent plus $500. It can add your actual losses, like a hotel bill, plus court costs and attorney's fees. If your rent is $1,000, the penalty alone is $1,500. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

In Utah, a renter may bring an action (a court case) after the corrective period (the days the owner has to fix a problem) expires. The case enforces the choice the renter named in the notice. The court must endorse (write) on the summons (the court papers) that the owner must appear and defend within 3 business days.

Suppose a Utah court finds the owner unjustifiably (without a good reason) refused to correct a problem. Or suppose it finds the owner failed to use due diligence (reasonable effort) to correct it. The renter is entitled to any money the owner must pay the renter, in addition to the choice named in the notice. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

In a Utah repair case, the court may award costs and reasonable attorney fees (lawyer fees) to the prevailing party (the side that wins). You get this money only if you win your case and the other side pays.

In Vermont, you may ask a court for injunctive relief (an order to make the landlord act). You may also ask for money the landlord must pay you, plus costs and reasonable attorney's fees. The landlord must fail to 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. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

A Wyoming court may award a renter costs and money the landlord must pay. The landlord must have refused to fix a problem for no reasonable cause, or failed to use due diligence (careful effort). The money may include rent the landlord kept or collected improperly. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

A Wyoming court may order a landlord to make reasonable repairs. A court order may end the rental agreement. The landlord must have refused to fix a problem for no reasonable cause, or failed to use due diligence (careful effort).