Leak In Apartment

Summary

If you have a leak in your apartment that hasnt been fixed and wasnt disclosed prior to signing the lease, you may be entitled to request repairs or deduct the cost from your rent. In Washington DC, landlords must provide habitable housing and cannot raise rent as retaliation or for unresolved serious housing code violations. Contact DC Courts at (202) 879-1010 for further assistance.

Full Conversation

i have a leak in my apartment that been there since *. This wasn’t disclosed to me prior signing the lease and it isn’t taken care of. The management have offered me to move an apartment and to leave without additional payments but I like my apartment and I want to stay an additional year. I wanted to know what I’m entitled to and if they can raise my rent in this case
Have you documented the leak and your communication with the management about it?

In Maryland:
- Landlords must provide habitable housing under "implied warranty of habitability".
- Rent increase is legal unless it's prohibited in your lease agreement.
yes
In Maryland:

- You can request repairs or deduct cost from rent.
- Rent increase must be just and not retaliatory.

For further assistance, contact Maryland Courts at (*) *-*.
im in Washington DC
In Washington DC:

- Landlords must provide habitable housing.
- Rent increase is legal unless it's prohibited in your lease agreement.

For further assistance, contact DC Courts at (*) *-*.
If the problem isn’t fixed, can they raise my rent?
In Washington DC:

- Landlords cannot raise rent as retaliation or for unresolved serious housing code violations.
- Contact DC Courts at (*) *-* for further assistance.
Am I entitled to any compensation?
Have you incurred any costs due to the leak?

In Washington DC:
- Tenants may be entitled to compensation for damages caused by landlord's negligence.
- Contact DC Courts at (*) *-* for further assistance.
Not really
In Washington DC:

- If no costs were incurred, compensation might not be applicable.
- For more details, contact DC Courts at (*) *-*.
can I ask for them to lower my rent? Since they are not fixing the leak
Have you discussed the possibility of a rent reduction with your landlord due to the unresolved leak issue?

In Washington DC:
- Tenants can negotiate rent reduction for unresolved serious housing code violations.
- Contact DC Courts at (*) *-* for further assistance.
yes but they are telling me that they can’t offer reduction since they offered me another apartment
In Washington DC:
- Landlords can offer alternative accommodations for unresolved issues.
- For further clarification, contact DC Courts at (*) *-*.
Can they force me to move?
In Washington DC:
- Landlords cannot forcibly evict without a court order.
- For more details, contact DC Courts at (*) *-*.
Can I ask for a rent reduction if they offered me another apartment?
In Washington DC:
- You can negotiate rent reduction even if alternative accommodations are offered.
- Contact DC Courts at (*) *-* for further assistance.
can they deduct the rent even though they offered me another apartment?
In Washington DC:
- Landlords can't deduct rent without tenant's agreement.
- For more details, contact DC Courts at (*) *-*.
can they raise the rent even if the problem wasn’t fixed?
In Washington DC:

- Landlords cannot raise rent for unresolved serious housing code violations.
- Contact DC Courts at (*) *-* for further assistance.