Can a landlord be required to pay hotel expenses for a tenant while plumbing/sewer repairs are being made?
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Can a landlord be required to pay hotel expenses for a tenant while plumbing/sewer repairs are being made?
I was required to stay in a hotel for 2 days because sewage was backing up in the bathtub and also in the kitchen. The landlord taped the toilet closed and put a label on it saying “Do not use”. I took pictures of the toilet and the floor in the kitchen where the carpet was soaking wet from the sewage overflowing on the floor. At that point I went to a hotel for 2 days because I had no running water in the home (he turned the water off to the house to stop the overflow of the sewage).
Asked on May 25, 2011 under Real Estate Law, Georgia
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
What a horrible thing to happen! Maybe. Maybe not. But you can certainly ask for it when you bring an action to abate the rent for the time that your apartment was uninhabitable. You can not just deduct the rent for the two days from the monthly rent but the court must order the reduction. You are definitely entitled to a break and should ask for other remedies"in the alternative" should the court not grant the abatement or in addition to the court granting the abatement. And you should ask for the fee for the hotel plus possibly food as you could not cook at home. And make sure that the problem is fixed before anything else. Good luck.
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