Can I withhold rent?

Be careful RJS! If you with-hold your rent you will be in breach of contract regardless of what is going on in your rental. You can legally withhold your rent via the rent abatement clause which would allow you to deduct rent for each day that the unit was unusable.

So if your rent is $1000 per month you would pro-rate it based on a 30 day month (regardless of how long or short the month is). $1000/ 30 = $33 daily rent. All you need to do is times the days that you could not use the rental by the daily pro-rated rent…

Here’s an example: (assuming the landlord owed you 14 days of rent abatement)

14 x $33 = $462

In the sample above you would be entitled to $462 in rent.

No, you can’t legally with-hold your rent. That’s the quickest way to eviction!