Hello experts:

This may not be the proper forum to post this, however, I owe my fellow landlord/tenant experts an apology. In response to a couple answers recently, I stated (righteously, I might add) that I knew of NO state that allowed tenants to pay their rent into an escrow account instead of to the landlord when certain repairs weren't made and certain procedures were followed.

Well, I found one. Pennsylvania. Hmmmm. I learn something every day.

excon

No problem, excon. :) And while many states don't "allow" the tenant to pay the rent into an escrow account, I know that in NJ and NY most landlord/tenant judges will not evict a tenant who has done so if there is a documented need for repairs. They just require the tenant to withdraw the funds from the escrow account and pay them into the court, and the court holds it in escrow until the repairs are made.

BTW, which source are you using for PA statutes? The one from that AOL website? If you know of another source please let me know.

Ohio allows it too.. . and funny; I always thought that most states allowed it.

Thanks for bringing it up, excon. It prompted me to add this to the sticky:
https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/landlord-tenant-law/landlord-tenant-laws-each-state-25845.html#post133273

If any of you who know the "Yes" or "No" for any State, please let me know and I'll add it to the post and thank y'all there!

Lisa, in your post you speak of the money from escrow. If the Tenant has documentation, but has not deposited the rent into escrow, will the judge still deem it a permissible defense?

Rick, there were a few times I'd been in court and saw a tenant claiming that they withheld the rent due to the landlord not making repairs. The judge ordered the premises inspected by a town inspector. When the inspector's report came back the judge allowed some deductions from the rent for the lack of repairs but the tenant then had to pay the remaining rent balance into court immediately and the landlord was ordered to make the repairs. The money would be released to the landlord when the inspector certified that the repairs were completed. So the court didn't grant a judgment for eviction when the tenant withheld the rent but did require it to be paid immediately into court after the hearing.

NJ is a well-known "tenants' rights" state so I can't say how the courts in another state might react.

Very interesting. Thanks for adding that. Here in Ohio, when the resident goes to put rent into escrow, an Inspection Order for the premises is issued - and the City goes does an inspection - and will not release the money until the repairs are done.

The landlord may not file an eviction if the rent money is in escrow.