Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

If the repair was more than one months rent as posted earlier you may be stuck...or if yournrent was reduced. I understand the pipes may have been bad enough to not repair or with new pipes, the old faucet does not work with new pipes etc....but if the amount of repairs is too high you may be stuck...

Mr Green cited in the first post the implied warranty of habitability. That is very hard to find in most cases as there has to be a violation of the bare living requirements (heat, hot water, etc). If there is substantial compliance with the building and housing codes ( (minor code violations are not enough)) it will suffix to meet the landlord's obligations. In fact a recent case found a leaky kitchen pipe, although a defect in the house that soaked the home's carpet and left mold not to be a breach of habitability.

I recall you mentioned you informed the landlord that the repair needed to be made and this was in an emergency situation. Where there are improvements that are a practical necessity for the contemplated use of the premises then a court can find by implication that a tenant acts as an agent of the landlord and they can get credited for the expense. This is notwithstanding an agreement that required a landlord's prior approval for an improvement as it is done out of necessity. Thus you have an argument in Court that you should get credit for the expense. Remember this is by implication, meaning the Court has to find that it was necessary to do.

For daily life you should try and avoid being taken to small claims court over this stuff and talk with the landlord.