Repair and deduct

Repair and deduct is the rule that turns a slow repair into a smaller rent check. Where a state allows it, a tenant who has given notice and waited the required time can hire someone to fix the problem and subtract the cost from rent, within limits the law sets.

The limits differ a lot from state to state, and some states don’t allow it at all. It is general information, not legal advice. Check your state’s page on repair timelines by state before you rely on any of the numbers below.

What the limits look like

• California: after notice and a reasonable time, presumed to be 30 days, up to one month’s rent and no more than twice in 12 months, under Civil Code 1942
• Delaware: $400 or half a month’s rent, whichever is less, if the landlord doesn’t fix it within 30 days of written notice or start within 10 days
• Illinois: $500 or half a month’s rent, whichever is less, after 14 days’ notice by certified or registered mail
• Maine: costs under $500 or half a month’s rent, whichever is greater, after 14 days’ written notice by certified mail
• Montana: up to one month’s rent after notice and a reasonable time

An example

The only toilet in a tenant’s unit keeps leaking at the base. They report it in writing, nobody books a repair, and the deadline in their state passes. They hire a plumber, keep the receipt, and pay that month’s rent minus the invoice. The owner pays for the repair either way. The difference is that the manager chose neither the plumber nor the price.

How Now Ours handles it

Ours answers tenants at any hour in your company’s name and books the visit with your technicians or vendors, so a request doesn’t sit long enough to reach a repair-and-deduct deadline. Every message and booking is recorded on the case with who it went to and when, which is the record you need if a tenant later says the repair was never booked. When it does happen, the post on monthly owner maintenance reports shows how to show it to the owner.