In the event a tenant has a maintenance request or gripes about the condition of the rental unit, require that it be put into writing

In an ongoing series, we take a look at important points that should be stressed in the rental agreement.

It’s a favorite demurrer of tenants or their attorneys. The tenant has not paid rent, and they justify the nonpayment by claiming that the rental unit is not in liveable condition.

Whether they only have around seven minutes of hot water coming out of the taps, unsecured windows or doors are making them fear for their safety, the heat is being stuck at 52 degrees, there are no guardrails on the stairs or any manner of other defects, tenants will often claim that their apartment is in substandard condition and thus, they are absolved from the responsibility to pay rent.

Tenants do in fact have a defense to an unlawful detainer (eviction) action if the rental unit is in inhabitable condition, but did they report it to the landlord? Housing providers cannot fix a problem that goes unreported.

 

Assuming the issue was reported, was it in writing? We want to show that if there was a habitability issue, it was communicated, or not. 

What we’d like to see spelled out in the lease is that whenever there is a complaint or request for repairs, it is documented in some form or fashion. It could be through email, via text messages, or submitted to an online portal like Appfolio. Whatever the means, we want landlords to stipulate that any maintenance issues be preserved in writing.

Emergencies like plumbing leaks are excepted.

If the unit was not in habitable condition, how can the landlord remedy it if they were not properly notified? The answer is they cannot. By embedding in the lease that any requested repairs be made in writing, we can overcome this defense to an eviction action. The tenant who is asserting that their rental unit is in horrid condition is hard-pressed to use this defense when the landlord has not been made aware of any concerns.

 

What if requests for repairs are unreasonable? The cloth cuts both ways and we need to respond in writing. 

It’s not uncommon for tenants to request maintenance that is unnecessary or that the tenant can do on their own, like changing a light bulb. We still want to reply to maintenance requests, however unreasonable, and state a reason for the denial.

 

Although our strong preference is that maintenance requests or complaints about the condition of the rental unit be put into writing, landlords and their agents cannot ignore oral requests and statements that there are defects.

Implied in every residential tenancy is the "implied warranty of habitability," meaning that rental units have to meet certain standards codified in California Civil Code §1941.1.

Whether communicated orally or through more formal means, the fundamental responsibility of the landlord to keep the rental up to applicable building codes remains sacrosanct no matter the means of telling the landlord.