§4.10 “Repair and Deduct”

If a rental unit is dilapidated to the point of not being habitable, the tenant has the right to make repairs and deduct the costs from the rent or to vacate the premises without being liable for further rent, if the tenant [CC §1942(a)]:

• Gives written or oral notice of the problem, and
• Waits a reasonable period of time for the landlord to make the repair.

Thirty days is presumed a reasonable time period, but a shorter notice period is acceptable when the circumstances justify it. [CC §1942(b).] Repair-and-deduct rights may be exercised only twice in any 12-month period. Additionally, repair costs may not exceed one month’s rent. [CC §1942(a).]

A residential tenant may successfully defend a UD action for nonpayment of rent on the ground that he or she properly invoked the repair-and-deduct remedy but the landlord failed to give proper credit. [See CC §1942.]

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