Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Landlord won't fix our bathtub.

My girlfriend and I moved into our apartment in September. We were told to look inspect the apartment and tell them of any damage that was there so that we would not get fined for that. Anyway, one of the biggest problems was our bathtub. It has peeling fiberglass chips peeling from the inside sides of the bathtub whenever my girlfriend would take a bath. She says that it really irritates her skin when she takes a bath. We told the landlord about this and she said she would fix it, but it's been months and still nothing. What are we supposed to do?


Asked on 1/01/08, 4:46 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert L. Bennett Law offices of Robert L. Bennett

Re: Landlord won't fix our bathtub.

Write the landlord a certified letter, return receipt requested, giving 7 days to repair.

If not repaired by then, either you pay for repair and deduct it from the rent, or withhold rent in the amount you think the tub repairs are worth. I strongly suggest the former.

Also, very frequently a strong letter from an attorney, demanding repair, usually produces positive results, and you can retain the attorney for just the letter, nothing else.

I am enclosing a California self-help website that should also help. In particular, read the "repair and deduct" method. However, be careful, because landlord can argue (in court) that the bathtub peeling isn't serious enough to breach the implied warrant of habitability. (You'll understand this more after reading the applicable web page).

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/repairs.

Please feel free to e-mail, or call, my office if you need further help.

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Answered on 1/01/08, 5:17 pm


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