How to Report Maintenance Issues to Your Landlord

Report a maintenance problem in writing: say what is broken, where it is, and when it started, send it to the person or address your lease names for notices, and keep a copy with proof that it arrived. That notice starts your landlord's legal repair deadline, which runs from 24 hours to begin fixing a heat or water outage in Washington to a presumed 30 days in California. If the deadline passes, escalate in order: a follow-up notice, a code inspection, then the remedy your state allows, such as repair and deduct, rent withholding, a small claims case, or ending the lease.

What your landlord must fix and what falls to you

Your landlord must keep the home fit to live in. California's list, for example, includes a roof, walls, windows, and doors that keep weather out; plumbing with hot and cold running water; working heat, gas, and electrical systems; floors, stairs, and railings in good repair; and a building free of pests and trash at move-in, with the landlord keeping the areas it controls that way. The duty also covers equipment the landlord supplies. Washington's law requires the landlord to keep the electrical, plumbing, and heating systems and the appliances it provides in reasonably good working order, and Chicago's ordinance counts a failure to repair landlord-supplied equipment as a violation. See your right to a habitable home for what counts as uninhabitable.

Your share is to keep the unit reasonably clean, use the plumbing, gas, electrical, and heating fixtures properly, and avoid damaging the property. In California, Florida, Texas, and Washington, the landlord does not have to repair damage caused by you, your household, or your guests, and California's tenant guide adds damage caused by pets. Your lease decides who handles smaller items, and California lets a lease make you responsible for some repairs in exchange for a real rent reduction, though the landlord still has to meet housing codes. Maintenance tasks that are usually yours lists the common ones.

What to put in a repair request

A typed or handwritten letter works. California's tenant guide recommends a signed, dated letter that describes the problem in detail, and Washington's law requires a written notice to identify the rental, the owner's name if you know it, and the defect. Include:

1. The date, your name, and your full address and unit number.
2. Each problem on its own line, with where it is, when it started, and how it affects you, such as "Since March 3, the kitchen sink leaks into the cabinet whenever the tap runs."
3. Photos or video, with the date they were taken.
4. What you are asking for: a repair by a specific date, plus the days and times someone can enter. California landlords usually must give 24 hours' written notice before entering for repairs.
5. Your signature.

How to send it, and the records to keep

Send the request to the person or address your lease names. That is a legal requirement in some places: Chicago's ordinance requires notice of a heat, water, or other essential-service failure to go to the address the landlord gave you for notices, Florida's rent-withholding notice can go to the landlord, its designated representative, a resident manager, or whoever collects the rent, and Texas counts notice given where you normally pay rent.

Use a delivery method that proves receipt:

• Certified mail with a return receipt. California's guide recommends it. Illinois requires certified, registered, or another restricted delivery method before you can repair and deduct, and in Texas, a first notice sent by certified or other tracked mail replaces the second written notice the law otherwise requires.
• Hand delivery with a receipt. Ask the manager to sign and date your copy.
• Portal, email, or text. These are fast and create a timestamp, but California's guide notes that its repair laws mention oral or written notice, not texts or email, and recommends following up with a letter.

Keep a folder, paper or digital, with:

• A copy of every notice and its delivery proof.
• Dated photos and video of the problem and of any repair.
• A log of calls, visits, and missed appointments, with the date, time, person, and what each of you said. In California, you need the other person's permission to record a phone call.
• Inspection reports and violation notices.
• Proof that you paid rent on time. Texas requires you to be current on rent when you give notice, and Washington requires current rent and agreed utilities before you use its repair remedies.
• Receipts for costs the problem caused, such as a space heater, a hotel night, or damaged belongings.

These records prove when the landlord learned of the problem, which is when most deadlines start, and they support any later claim for a rent reduction or damages.

How long to wait before you escalate

Count from the day the landlord receives your notice. Washington requires the landlord to start repairs within 24 hours for no heat, water, or electricity, within 72 hours for a broken refrigerator, stove, or major plumbing fixture it supplied, and within 10 days for other defects. Texas presumes 7 days is reasonable, Florida's withholding and lease-ending remedies open 7 days after written notice, and Illinois's repair-and-deduct law and Chicago's ordinance give landlords 14 days, or less in an emergency. California presumes 30 days is reasonable before repair and deduct, but its guide says one or two days may be reasonable for a broken furnace in very cold weather. New York law sets no fixed number; the Attorney General's guide says repairs must be made within a reasonable time that varies with how serious the problem is.

If you smell gas, leave the area immediately on foot and call 911 or the gas utility from a safe location before contacting the landlord. For an emergency, such as a gas smell, sewage backup, flooding, or no heat in freezing weather, call the landlord's emergency number as soon as it is safe and follow up in writing the same day. See how long your landlord has to make repairs for each state's deadline and emergency repairs for what counts as one.

Escalation steps, in order

Before you use any remedy past step 2, confirm two things: the problem is the kind your state's remedy covers, which in California means a serious health or safety defect, and you did not cause it. Then keep paying rent unless you are using a withholding or escrow remedy exactly as your state allows.

1. Send a follow-up notice. Refer to the date of your first notice, list what is still broken, and set a final date. Some remedies require this notice to name the remedy: Florida requires a notice saying you will withhold rent or end the lease, Illinois and Chicago require a notice that you intend to have the repair made at the landlord's expense, and in Texas, one notice must say you intend to make the repair and describe it. In Texas, you can also demand a written explanation for the delay; if none arrives within 5 days, the landlord must prove in court that it made a diligent effort and that a reasonable time had not passed.
2. Ask for a code inspection. Call your city or county building, housing, or health department, or 311 in New York City. An inspector's violation notice sets the owner's deadline. In New York City, an immediately hazardous violation generally must be corrected within 24 hours (21 days for mold, pests, or lead paint), a heat or hot water violation gets no time at all, and a hazardous violation gets 30 days before penalties can apply. Some remedies require an inspection first: Texas repair and deduct, for most conditions, needs a local official's written notice to the landlord, and Washington's rent escrow needs an inspector's certification.
3. Repair and deduct, where allowed. You pay for the repair and subtract it from rent, within a cap: one month's rent, no more than twice in 12 months, in California; the greater of one month's rent or $500 in Texas; the greater of $500 or half a month's rent in Chicago; and the lesser of $500 or half a month's rent elsewhere in Illinois, in the buildings those laws cover. Keep the paid bill. See repair and deduct.
4. Withhold rent or pay it into escrow, where allowed. Escrow means paying the rent to a court or a neutral account holder instead of the landlord. California allows withholding for serious health and safety defects, and its guide advises setting the money aside. In Florida, if the landlord sues, you must deposit the rent claimed with the court, or ask the court to set the amount, within 5 business days of being served, or you lose every defense except payment. Chicago lets you withhold an amount that reasonably reflects the unit's reduced value while the condition remains uncorrected, starting 14 days after the landlord receives written notice stating your intent to withhold and the amount. Washington allows an escrow account after an inspection. Washington also lets tenants raise uninhabitable conditions as a defense in a nonpayment eviction case, with the court deciding how the defects affect rent owed. Texas law makes a tenant who withholds rent liable for the landlord's damages, plus a penalty of one month's rent and $500 for continuing in bad faith after a written warning. See when you can withhold rent.
5. Sue for money. You can ask for rent you overpaid for a defective unit, damaged belongings, and costs such as a hotel. California's small claims court hears cases up to $12,500 for individuals, without lawyers. A Texas justice court, the local court for smaller cases, can order the repair, cut your rent from the date of your first notice, and award a civil penalty of one month's rent plus $500, with a total cap of $20,000.
6. End the lease. California, Florida, Texas, and Washington let you move out after notice when a serious defect goes unrepaired, and Chicago lets you set an end date at least 14 days after your notice, or 72 hours after notice when heat, water, or electricity is out. If a court later finds the problem did not qualify, the landlord can sue you for the remaining rent, so get legal advice before you move.

Can your landlord retaliate for a repair request?

No, and several states protect you for a set period after a repair request or complaint. In California, if you are current on rent, a landlord cannot evict you, raise the rent, or cut services in retaliation within 180 days after your repair request or agency complaint, though you can use that protection only once in 12 months. Texas bars retaliation for six months after a repair notice, a repair remedy, or a code complaint, but an eviction for unpaid rent is not retaliation. If you are current on rent, Washington presumes an eviction or other listed action within 90 days of your complaint is retaliation. New York presumes it for an eviction case or a major change to your lease terms within one year of a good-faith complaint, except in owner-occupied buildings with fewer than four units. Florida lets you raise retaliation as a defense to an eviction case if you complained in good faith to a code agency or to the landlord, unless the landlord proves good cause, such as unpaid rent.