Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: no heat for six months

Asking a lawyer to speculate on the outcome of a case when they don't know all the facts or the quality of the evidence to support the facts will not produce reliable results. Anyone who professes to know is reckless. This is especially true with small-claims court, where the judges are more likely to follow their hunches rather than apply the law strictly (this is not necessarily bad, either).

Having said all that, buying firewood is not strictly within the 'repair and deduct' law. If you had hired a heater or furnace repairer and paid for it, you would more clearly be 'in the right' when you deducted it from rent. It seems that a deduction from rent for firewood is 'fair,' but the world of contracts (a lease is a kind of contract) doesn't always allow freelance deviations from the obligations set forth in the writing.

If you are asking because you wonder if it's worth showing up in court to present your defense, I would say yes, by all means, your prospects are reasonably good because the judge should be indignant about the months without heat. Bring proof that you complained as well as receipts for the firewood purchases.