By Robert Griswold
Question: A few things need fixing in our apartment, such as a broken refrigerator shelf and the fan on the stove. My wife says don't bother the landlord, especially when rents are on the rise. Her attitude is to keep a low profile and perhaps they'll keep our rent where it is. Is this a good strategy?Tenants' attorney Steven Kellman replies:
With rents on the rise and available units in short supply, it is no wonder why tenants feel threatened in their own homes. Not unlike living in a country where you can be punished for expressing your ideas and opinions, tenants can be punished for expressing theirs.
The fear is that if you make any trouble for the landlord, you may face an eviction. This intimidation reaches into homes where the "trouble" may be simply asking for a necessary repair to be made.
Many tenants feel that if you complain, even about legitimate problems, the landlord will attempt to evict you. He/she will then rent to tenants who will accept the unit as it is or who would repair the problems themselves.
While not necessarily true for all landlords, the reality is that many landlords are less tolerant of tenants now than before the market changed. In the past, there was a shorter supply of tenants. Landlords were forced to better accommodate tenants to prevent a vacancy since they would lose rent. There were move-in incentives to attract new tenants. That has changed and there is now an abundance of tenants. Those incentives are gone, as well as the need to accommodate existing tenants.
Of course, tenants should feel free to assert their rights, including having necessary repairs done by the landlord, without being intimidated into keeping a low profile. If all tenants chose to assert their rights, there will not be much incentive to evict or retaliate against you for asserting yours.
Landlords' attorney Ted Smith replies:
From the landlord's perspective, I think this is a good strategy. You could approach the landlord in a non-demanding way. The refrigerator shelf and stove fan are not items of substantial habitability. We all can agree on that.
Most landlords, however, are willing to make small repairs, and will not retaliate for putting them on notice. These defects could be addressed informally, but don’t make the mistake of withholding rent if the landlord refuses to make these repairs.
Property manager Robert Griswold replies:
As the attorneys correctly state, you do have the legal right to request these repairs even if they are not habitability items. I believe that a sincere and caring landlord will be glad to quickly correct the problems.
Unfortunately, your wife has accurately identified a very common landlord's response to the tenant's requests for repairs. The more calls you make, the more of a "problem" you are causing and thus the more likely it is that you will get a rent increase. Remember the saying "the squeaky wheel gets the grease." How about "the complaining tenant gets the rent increase"?
I think that you should seriously consider finding a new landlord that looks at your request for maintenance as a sign that you truly care about your rental home. There are many landlords that would love to hear about these minor items now rather than deal with a disaster upon move-out. Find a new landlord.
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