Landlord or Tenant: Who Pays for Repairs? (The Rules by Situation and State)
The default rule in nearly every state: landlords must pay to keep the unit habitable — heat, hot water, working plumbing and electrical, a sound roof, and safe structure — while tenants pay for damage they or their guests cause. Almost every dispute lives in the gap between those two sentences, and the tenant’s leverage starts with one boring step: written notice, dated, kept. Here’s the situation-by-situation breakdown.
Who Pays? The Situation Table
| Situation | Who pays | Why |
|---|---|---|
| No heat in winter / no hot water | Landlord — urgent | Core habitability in every state (what the fix costs) |
| Burst pipe, roof leak, sewer backup | Landlord (building systems) | Habitability + structure |
| Clogged drain — caused by tenant (grease, wipes) | Tenant | Damage beyond normal wear (drain costs) |
| Clogged main line — tree roots, old pipes | Landlord | Building system failure |
| Broken appliance the lease includes | Landlord (normal failure) / tenant (misuse) | Lease terms govern provided appliances |
| AC died | State/lease dependent — AC is required habitability in some hot states/cities, lease-only elsewhere | Check lease + local code |
| Dead smoke/CO detectors | Landlord installs; tenant maintains batteries (typical split) | State safety statutes |
| Mold | Landlord if from leaks/structure; tenant if from never ventilating | Source determines payer |
| Pests at move-in / building-wide | Landlord (what treatment costs) | Habitability |
| Pests from tenant housekeeping | Often tenant | Cause determines payer |
| Normal wear (worn carpet, faded paint) | Landlord — and not deductible from your deposit | Wear is the landlord’s cost of doing business |
The Process That Protects You (Tenant Version)
- Written notice, always — text/email/letter describing the problem, dated. Verbal requests legally never happened.
- Reasonable time to fix: emergencies (no heat, flooding, no water) = 24–72 hours in most states; non-urgent = commonly 14–30 days.
- Escalate in writing — second notice referencing the first, with photos.
- Know your state’s remedies (in order of risk): call code enforcement (free, effective, landlords answer to inspectors), repair-and-deduct where allowed, rent withholding/escrow where allowed, or breaking the lease for uninhabitability — the last two have strict procedures; do them wrong and you’re the one in violation.
- Never just stop paying rent informally — that converts their violation into your eviction case.
How Do the Big States Differ?
| State | The headline rule |
|---|---|
| California | Repair-and-deduct: up to one month’s rent, usable twice per 12 months, after reasonable notice |
| Texas | Formal notice procedure; repair-and-deduct capped (greater of $500 or one month’s rent per repair); landlord gets a presumption of 7 days to act |
| New York | Statutory warranty of habitability (can’t be waived); rent abatement through housing court; NYC adds heat-season minimum temperatures |
| Florida | 7-day written notice procedure before withholding; specific statutory duties list |
| Illinois (Chicago) | Chicago’s RLTO gives strong repair/deduct and termination rights; rest of state is lease-driven |
| Washington | Strong repair timelines by urgency (24h no water/heat, 72h appliances, 10 days other) |
Rules change and cities layer on top — verify with your state AG’s tenant-rights page or local tenant union before acting on the strong remedies.
The Landlord’s Side (Worth Knowing Even as a Tenant)
Landlords aren’t required to fix tenant-caused damage for free, can deduct genuine damage (not wear) from deposits with itemized receipts, and are entitled to access with proper notice to make repairs. Smart landlords fix habitability issues fast for a financial reason: code violations, rent abatement, and constructive-eviction claims all cost more than a $400 plumber visit — and repair costs are exactly what our cost guides price, so both sides can sanity-check the contractor’s bill (how to read the quote).
Frequently Asked Questions
My landlord won’t fix the heat — can I just call a contractor and deduct it from rent? Only if your state allows repair-and-deduct and you follow its procedure exactly (written notice, waiting period, cost caps, receipts). Done right it’s powerful; done wrong it’s grounds for eviction. Check your state’s rules first — and call code enforcement, which is free and procedure-proof.
Who pays for a plumber when the drain clogs? Cause decides: tenant-caused clogs (grease, wipes, toys) bill to the tenant; system failures (roots, old pipes, main-line issues) are the landlord’s. Plumbers can usually state the cause — get it in writing on the invoice.
Is air conditioning legally required in rentals? Depends where you live: some hot-climate states and cities (e.g., Dallas, Phoenix by ordinance) treat working AC as required; many northern states treat it as a lease amenity. If the lease provides it, the landlord must maintain it either way.
Can my landlord deduct repairs from my security deposit? For damage beyond normal wear, yes — with itemized statements (and receipts in many states) within your state’s deadline. Worn carpet and faded paint are wear; the door your dog ate is damage. Move-in/move-out photos settle most of these fights.
What counts as an emergency repair in a rental? No heat in winter, no water, no hot water, flooding, sewage backup, no working toilet, dangerous electrical — conditions making the unit unsafe or unlivable. These trigger the shortest repair clocks (24–72 hours in most states) — and the emergency playbooks apply while you wait.
Last updated: June 10, 2026. Sources: state warranty-of-habitability statutes (e.g., Cal. Civ. Code § 1942; Tex. Prop. Code ch. 92; NY RPL § 235-b; Fla. Stat. § 83.51; Chicago RLTO; RCW 59.18.070); HUD tenant rights resources. State rules vary and change — this is consumer information, not legal advice.