Tenant Refusing Rent Payment During Mold Repairs

[Sara Soleimani]

Hello BP community,

I'm a landlord in California, and I'm dealing with a situation where my tenant is refusing to pay rent for the time during which mold repairs were being done due to water damage from a neighboring unit. The tenant's sink and toilet in their only bathroom were under repair, and I want to know if the tenant has the right to withhold rent in this case, as the unit may not have been considered 'habitable' during that time. What are the rules or guidelines in California regarding rent payments when a rental unit is temporarily uninhabitable due to repairs? Any advice or relevant legal references would be greatly appreciated!

[Greg Scott]

I presume they had a kitchen sink, so the sink is not a relevant issue related to habitability. However, a unit without a toilet would not be considered a habitable unit in any state.

You did not give a lot of background information.  The rehab for this sort of thing should take about 3 days.  If that is the approximate time frame, then throw them a bone and move on.

If they have been unable to use the bathroom since the water incident because it was declared unhealthful, then it would have been much better to have made an insurance claim.  If you have the right insurance, both the repairs and lost rent would be covered.