[sammysue_11]

My fiancé, son, and I have been renting a house for about a year and a half and have a verbal lease/agreement with our landlords who happen to own the business right next to our house. I was wondering if they were responsible for repairs that need to be done to the house. I have asked them numerous times to fix or repair our front door because it doesn't close all the way and every time I asked they have said "We will get around to it. It isn't a high priority for us right now." We have always gotten rent to them in a timely manner so I wanted to know how far I can take this until it gets resolved.

The door not shutting is costing a lot of money for heat(they own the propane company in our town) and I think that may be a reason for their not fixing it yet.

There is a whole load of other things that need to be repaired also that they have just brushed off as well. They tell us we can't even paint in the house because they think it will make the value of the property go down. Can I stop paying rent until these problems get resolved?

[LisaB4657]

You should never stop paying rent due to repairs. The landlord can sue you for eviction and will probably win.

Instead you should send the landlord a letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, with a copy by regular mail. In the letter you should list all of the necessary repairs. Then say that the front door is an emergency since it creates a security problem and that if they don't repair it within the next 2 days you will have it repaired yourself and deduct the cost from the rent.

If they don't repair it in 2 days then have someone fix it and send your next rent payment minus the cost and include a copy of the receipt for the repair.

As for the other repairs, you can do the same thing with any other items that would be considered emergencies. For non-emergencies, say that you'll give them 30 days to make repairs. If they don't do it within that time then say that you'll have it done yourself and deduct the costs from the rent.