Any help or feedback on this would be appreciated.
Can a tenant in a multi family rental refuse to pay rent due to rodent, ****roaches or bed bugs in the apartment citing that he cannot have “peaceful enjoyment” of the apartment or based on sanitary or health concerns? Even though the landlord has provided extermination services on a monthly basis.
What do most landlords do under these circumstances and is there a language that most landlords use in the lease agreement to preempt these situations?
My lease has language that prohibits withholding or offsetting rent. In fact, I think state law in state prohibits. In my state there is a process the tenant has to go through.
But step back a bit. Your landlord obviously needs to provide a place without rodents, etc etc. And as you yourself said, the landlord as a 'monthly extermination program". Bottomline, it isn’t working. He needs to get a professional out there to exerminate in all the apartments simultaneously. How do you demand your rent when you’ve got rodents running around?
What is the language concerning this issue in the lease? That says its all right there. It doesn’t sound like the landlord is providing extermination services that are pretty bad if this issues keeps coming up. Part of the rent goes to extermination so this landlord is not providing a quality environment and will probably see people leave when lease come due.
Thanks, I am asking from the prospective of the LANDLORD, how to prevent a situation when the tenant refuses to pay rent citing that there are roaches or beg bugs issues.
The thing with roaches or bed bugs is that even if extermination services are provided monthly,it is still possible that that they are not eradicated completely, so I wonder if tenants can use this as an excuse to withhold rent and what can the landlord do under these circumstances.
I agree with Brandon in that a tenant must pay rent or face eviction. On the other hand it all depends on the language in the contract with the tenant.
[QUOTE=Maryjoe;887408]Any help or feedback on this would be appreciated.
Can a tenant in a multi family rental refuse to pay rent due to rodent, ****roaches or bed bugs in the apartment citing that he cannot have “peaceful enjoyment” of the apartment or based on sanitary or health concerns? Even though the landlord has provided extermination services on a monthly basis.
What do most landlords do under these circumstances and is there a language that most landlords use in the lease agreement to preempt these situations?
Thanks.[/QUOTE]
You might put something in your leases about it… However, in my mind that should not be the issue. Is there a roach problem in the building? If so, fix it. It is the right thing to do, plus your best tenants won’t stay if the building stays invested all of the time. If the problem is one tenant on a mission to live for free, evict them for failing to pay the rent.