I have a saved email stating from my landlord that he would have his homeowners insurance pay for a very expensive solid wood cabinet that was ruined by a leaky roof. He is now trying to say no. Can I hold back rent in exchange for the payment of the wood cabinet? What are my legal rights?

I wouldn't advise you to hold back rent, but you do have legal grounds in small claims court if you have proof he said he would compensate you. I guess he doesn't want to make a claim in case his insurance goes up. It would be better for him if he just paid you outright to repair the damage.

We had the same problem with our "slumlord" after everything in our Florida room was damaged from a leacky roof. The leak started after the 3 hurricanes in 2004, he would not fix the problem, which progressivly got worse and caused other damage and mold. If the damage is from him NOT fixing a problem that he was informed about, then you legally can hold money in escrow until the roof is fixed. Even though you have an e-mail from him stating that he would pay for the table, you may have problems with that because they see it as you should have had renters insurance to protect your stuff. I would print a copy of the e-mail and draft a letter to the landlord asking him to live up to his word and replace the table. If that doesn't work, call an attorney's office and ask if there is anything you can legally do. Usually they will answer a simple question over the phone. Hope this helps.:)