When Mark Friedlander says he has ”a very big mice problem,” he`s not referring to the size of the rodents that have been running the walls and scampering about his Chicago apartment. He`s talking quantity, as in dozens.
”My roommate and I have seen them in the hallways, and I was down on the beach one day looking back at the apartment, and I could see about 10 of them on the windowsill,” says Friedlander, admitting that he jumped up on the furniture and screamed when he saw the first of his furry friends dashing across his living room floor.
What is his landlord doing about it? Not much, according to Friedlander, who wrote and called his landlord to very little effect. But that doesn`t mean Friedlander has taken on the scurrying vermin as roommates.
Instead, he has taken mouse matters into his own hands, by buying and setting traps and plugging holes with steel wool and spackle in an effort to keep Mickey and Minnie et al. out of his apartment. And, following a bit of procedural notification, Friedlander is able to bill his landlord for the expenses in the form of a rent reduction under the ”repair and deduct”
remedy of Chicago`s Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance.
Whether you`ve got a pesky problem like Friedlander`s, or a landlord who is simply being a rat about maintaining habitable premises, the repair and deduct option might be available for getting repairs done quickly at the expense of the uncooperative building owner.
Sound simple? It is. By following a few easy steps, and getting some
(free) expert help, you can return your living space to a livable space without having to go to court, without having to move out and without having to shell out additional cash of your own.
Exceptions to the rule
That does not mean, however, that landlords are easy marks under repair and deduct or similar remedies. Tenants cannot charge landlords for damages that they (or their guests) have caused. Nor can tenants charge for decorating or for problems they agreed to live with when they signed their lease. The key in a repair and deduct situation is that the landlord has failed to maintain habitable premises.
What are ”habitable premises?” Under city law and most area municipal codes, an apartment must be safe and fit to live in. That means that landlords must maintain minimum standards of structural safety, cleanliness and fire safety and ensure that essential services (gas, heat, electricity) can be delivered to the renter. It also means the landlord must exterminate when necessary, supply space for garbage disposal, provide smoke detectors and, depending on your lease, keep appliances such as refrigerators and ovens in good working order.
”This time of year, problems like lack of heat or the problem of windows not being fit or secure are common. Some people would rather find a stopgap solution and `repair and deduct` instead of fixing the larger problem,” says William Wilen of the Legal Assistance Foundation, which provides legal help for low-income Chicago tenants.
But before you run out, buy a space heater and try the repair and deduct remedy, there are a few things to consider:
– Location. In this area, only two municipalities-Chicago and Evanston-have ordinances that back the repair and deduct remedy for tenants. Similar legislation was recently voted down in Oak Park, and the State of Illinois has no repair and deduct law on the books.
– Cost of repairs. In Chicago, the landlord-tenant ordinance allows residents to repair problems if the cost is less than $200 or one-fourth of the monthly rent (whichever is more), and deduct the cost from the rent. Certain exceptions to the cost limits may be made for ”essential services”
such as heat, hot water, gas or electricity.
Evanston`s ordinance is similar, though the repair expenses can equal up to half the monthly rent. With average rent in the communities in the $625-$750 range, the higher percentage allows for more costly repairs.
– Procedure. Repair and deduct requires that a very strict procedure be followed, so tenants should seek the counsel of an attorney or local tenants organization before attempting to repair and deduct. You must give the landlord a chance to fix the problem first, and any repairs you make must be
”reasonable.” For example, if your faucet is broken, don`t plan on replacing it with a fancy designer spout or you`ll be violating the ordinance. Of course, the first step in the process should be contacting the landlord. While the first formal step in a repair and deduct scenario calls for a written notice, a phone call or in-person request in a firm but polite tone may well yield the results you`re seeking.
”Give them a chance to respond to you,” says Ralph Scott of the Rogers Park Tenants Committee. ”It`s an effort of communication, and the letter is a communication, but sometimes it`s a harsh way to start the process.”
Says Tim Carpenter, executive director of Chicago`s Metropolitan Tenant Organization: ”The best strategy, especially early on, is to establish a record of being reasonable.”
Ask the landlord to set specific dates and don`t be afraid to stress the urgency of the situation. If you get no response after a day or so, send the landlord an informal note reiterating your request.
Keep copies of any and all correspondence regarding repairs and be sure to document your problems. Photograph visible defects if possible, marking the picture with date, location and description of the problem.
If the landlord is still dragging his feet after a week, it`s probably time to get some expert advice. You can do so by contacting your local building department, a community housing group or any of several housing hotline numbers, where volunteers can provide advice and referrals.
The experts will also be able to provide you with a form letter for the 14-day notice, which informs the landlord that you are giving him two weeks to make the requested repairs. The letter should be sent certified mail-return receipt requested-or hand-delivered, with a copy sent to the appropriate community group or building department. If the landlord fails to correct the listed defects, the tenant, under the law, has the right to make repairs and deduct the cost from that month`s rent.
Risky alternative
In communities where there is no repair and deduct remedy or where damages exceed the cost limits, rent withholding is a common way to pressure an uncooperative landlord into making repairs, but it can be risky, because landlords can sue for eviction and damages, says Kathy Swanson, managing attorney at the Evanston office of the Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation. ”In some cases, it may boil down to whether you`ve got a sympathetic judge or not,” she says.
Write your town`s housing department and ask that someone inspect the building for code violations. If the inspector cites the landlord, and he doesn`t make the corrections in the prescribed time, you can file a 14-day rent-withholding notice.
As a general rule, tenants should never withhold 100 percent of the rent. Swanson advises withholding only a portion of the rent, based on the percentage of room the damaged area takes up in the apartment.
Still, some people find it necessary to stretch the limits. Rogers Park resident Ray Young decided to withhold nearly all of his rent because of the extensive damages in his government-subsidized apartment. Sewage smells permeate the air, and the floor is sunken, allowing winter air to rush into the unheated back bedroom where Young sleeps with a space heater. Until recently, he also had problems with a neighbor`s toilet backing up.
”There was carpet in here, but it got ruined. And there`s no way I`m going to go out and buy furniture for this apartment,” says Young, who`s confined to a wheelchair because of muscular dystrophy. ”(The landlord)
promised to make all these repairs. When he didn`t, he told me there was nothing I could do, and that I didn`t have a chance of winning.”
But Young hooked up with the Rogers Park Tenants Committee. He`s been withholding a large portion of his $215-a-month rent since August. And what did his landlord say?
”There wasn`t much he could say,” answers Young. ”He just had to accept the fact that I was playing by the rules, and I wasn`t going to lose on this one.”
