Can I Force My Landlord To Fix My Apartment?

Minor Inconveniences

Unless your lease clearly says so, your landlord is under no general duty to fix your apartment. Small inconveniences and minor repairs are not legally the responsibility of the landlord unless he or she has agreed to make such repairs. The agreement to make repairs is not required to be in the lease itself. If your landlord has otherwise agreed to make such repairs, they may be obligated to do so just as if the agreement was a part of the lease.

If your lease does call for the landlord to perform the maintenance in question, you should contact them in writing and request that these repairs are made. If the repairs are not made, you can have the repairs made with money from your own pocket, and simply recover the cost in small claims court.

Major Problems

Despite the terms of the lease, there is a law that calls for the landlord to mend conditions that affect a tenant’s physical health or safety, and to provide hot water to tenants. If the landlord does not abide by this law, the tenant may be entitled to perform the repair and deduct the costs from rent. Further, the tenant may terminate the lease, move out, and gain a penalty of one month’s rent plus $500.

If your landlord engages in an illegal action in Texas, you likely have grounds for legal action, but only consider court as a last resort. First make every attempt possible to resolve the problem by talking diplomatically with your landlord. This is the easiest and most cost effective approach to remedying disputes.

If the issue persists, seek the help of a neutral party or a mediator. Mediators are usually publicly funded and available free or at low cost. For mediation in tenant-landlord disputes, you need the landlord-tenant dispute attorneys at Arguello Law Firm. Call us now at 1-888-252-4668 and we’ll make sure your rights are protected, and that your landlord pays for taking advantage of you.