Ask Altagracia: How do I withhold rent without breaking the law?

Renters struggling to get their landlords to make major repairs often feel they only have one real option: not paying rent. This is a last resort for tenants facing major housing violations—lack of heat, hot water or cooking gas, broken windows or doors, large holes in the floor, or major mold problems. 

But there are important steps to take before you withhold rent, according to Altagracia Pierre-Outerbridge, an attorney and founder of Outerbridge Law who represents residential landlords and tenants and condo owners.

First, you need to send a letter to the landlord spelling out what repairs need to be made. If there’s no progress after a few weeks, send another letter saying that if the repairs aren’t completed within a certain time frame, you plan to start withholding rent. Send those letters via certified mail, preferably to the address for notices on the lease.

You need to set the unpaid rent aside and not spend it, because you may have to pay it back later. It’s also important to document the conditions in your apartment that need to be repaired, and call 311, which will trigger a visit from city inspectors.

If, after all that, the landlord has not tried to make repairs, a tenant can file what’s called a Housing Part action in city housing court, and begin withholding rent. The HP action, if granted by a judge, forces the landlord to repair hazardous conditions in your apartment. 

“If you don’t do that, you’re just setting the rent aside and waiting to get sued,” Pierre-Outerbridge said. “If it goes to trial, you need to have proof. Document everything. Hold onto the money so you can pay it. Get an attorney if possible, and you’ll be entitled to one if a non-payment case is brought against you.” 

She added that if you choose not to have an attorney, the court system has dedicated staffers for tenants who want to represent themselves in housing court. Filing a case just requires going to the counter in your borough’s housing court. But don’t ignore your court date: “If you default [by not showing up], they’ll enter a judgment for the rent,” she continued. “There is no guarantee that the judge will consider your defenses.”

Most importantly, if the landlord is making efforts to complete the repairs, don’t sue them—yet. 

“If they drop off the map, send a letter threatening to do what you’re going to do, and give them a week to respond,” she said. “The only requirement is to notify them and give them a reasonable amount of time to correct it. You never want to appear eager for litigation.”

Altagracia Pierre-Outerbridge, Esq. is the owner of Outerbridge Law P.C. While Outerbridge Law focuses primarily on tenant representation, the firm is also well versed in landlord representation and represents all sides in landlord-tenant litigation and transactional matters such as month-to-month holdovers, nuisance cases, owner’s use cases, licensee cases, harassment claims, repair cases, tenant buyouts, succession claims, DHCR overcharges and rent reductions and more. With nearly 15 years of experience litigating in Supreme, DHCR, and Housing Court, Pierre-Outerbridge has finely developed her legal skills to deliver superior results to her clients and founded Outerbridge Law P.C. to drive this mission. To submit a question for this column, click here.

To contact Outerbridge Law P.C. directly, call 212-364-5612 or 877-OUTERBRIDGE, or schedule a meeting today.