Letter to Landlord
to Deduct for Repairs

Your letter to landlord to deduct for repairs will hopefully be the final one in what may have been a long saga.

Having a paper trail as proof of your efforts to get the landlord to fulfil his duties is vital in case of dispute.

receipt

You've followed the letter (no pun intended) of the law:

You first wrote a letter requesting repairs. After allowing a reasonable amount of time with no reaction from the landlord;
You wrote a letter notifying the landlord that you will withhold rent. If that also elicited no response;
You wrote a letter submitting three estimates and informing the landlord that if he does not act, you will go ahead with the repairs.

All the above sample letters (and others) can be found on our Letter to Landlord page. You can also refer to our Renters Rights page for other tenant information.

The repairs were duly done by your contractor, so you write the following letter:

Letter to Landlord to Deduct for Repairs

TO:__________________________

__________________________

With reference to repairs needed at the following property:

___________________________________________________

Subsequent to my letter dated ____________ within which I enclosed three quotes for repairs, you failed to respond within reasonable time and according to the legal obligations of a landlord.

I have therefore contracted the lowest bidder to effect the repairs and these repairs have now been completed. I enclose copies of the receipts for payments made.

I will be deducting the amount of $_______ from my next rent payment.

I have paid the amount of $___________ from rent previously withheld in an escrow account of which I notified you in my letter dated _____________.

Sincerely,

______________________
Tenant

______________________
Date

***

As with all letters to landlord our advice is to send it by registered mail and to retain proof of mailing and copies of letters.

The guidelines supplied here is to help you ensure that you follow proper procedure before you write a Letter to Landlord to Deduct for Repairs.

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