Purpose

This bill creates a formal “tenant right to repair” in residential rental units. It lets tenants repair certain problems themselves when the landlord won’t fix them after notice, and then either deduct the repair costs from rent or be reimbursed by the landlord. It works in place of certain rent escrow options and adds protections against landlord retaliation and additional remedies for tenants.

Main Provisions

• Right to repair in lieu of rent escrow: A tenant may pay for needed repairs after giving the landlord notice and an opportunity to repair, and may deduct the repair costs from future rent or receive reimbursement.
• Notice requirements: Before doing repairs, the tenant must provide a written notice to the landlord (via the address used to send rent, or the landlord’s listed contact methods). The notice must describe the needed repair and the tenant’s plan to deduct costs. Generally, notice must be given at least 14 days before starting repairs. If the issue is a listed code violation with an inspection, a copy of the violation notice must be included.
• Opportunity to dispute and inspection: If the landlord disputes the repair, the landlord has 14 days to respond and arrange a building official inspection. If the landlord does not respond within 14 days, the landlord waives the right to argue the repair isn’t required. If the inspection confirms the repair is needed (or no inspection occurs within 30 days after the landlord’s dispute notice), the tenant keeps the right to proceed with repairs.
• Repair contracting process: If the landlord hasn’t scheduled repairs or hasn’t fixed the violation within 14 days after notice, the tenant may contract the repairs. The tenant must obtain bids from two different contractors and pick the lower bid. The tenant must inform the landlord of each bid and of the scheduled repair dates within 24 hours.
• Deduction or reimbursement: The tenant must provide a receipt before deducting costs from rent. Deductions from rent may total up to two months’ rent within a 12-month period (with a limit adjusted if the tenant’s rent is government-subsidized to reflect fair market rent). Alternatively, the landlord may reimburse the tenant for the repair costs directly.
• Lease termination and reimbursements: If the lease ends before the tenant can deduct costs, the landlord must reimburse any outstanding repair payments.
• Relation to tax requirements: Nothing in this provision relieves the landlord from applicable federal tax reporting rules.
• Protection from retaliation: A landlord cannot take adverse action (such as evictions, nonrenewal, raising rent, increasing obligations, or reducing services) against a tenant who uses this right to repair.
• Private right of action: Tenants may sue to enforce this right. Courts may order a rent reduction or lease rescission, award up to $500 per violation, and grant reasonable attorney fees.
• Landlord/contractor liability and property ownership: Contractors who perform repairs can be liable to the landlord for property damage. Any new appliance acquired through these repairs becomes the landlord’s property.
• Exemptions: The rights in this section do not apply to emergency repairs or to certain short-term rental properties.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Establishes a formal Right to Repair process that supplements or replaces parts of rent escrow procedures.
• Adds explicit timelines, notice requirements, and a contractor bid process for tenant-initiated repairs.
• Introduces caps on rent deductions (two months in a 12-month period) and requires landlord reimbursement options.
• Strengthens tenant protections against retaliation and gives a private right of action with monetary penalties and attorney fees.
• Clarifies liability and ownership related to repairs and new appliances.

Practical Effects

• Tenants gain a clear mechanism to fix certain housing problems without waiting for the landlord, subject to notice and dispute procedures.
• Landlords must respond to repair requests in a defined timeframe and may face financial penalties or lease remedies if tenants prevail.
• The bill creates more formalized rules around repair timelines, bid requirements, and handling of deductions and reimbursements.

Exemptions and Boundaries

• Applies to non-emergency repairs in most residential units, but not to emergency repairs or certain short-term rentals.
• The rights are limited by the two-month-per-12-month cap on rent deductions, and by the requirement that some deductions align with fair market rent in subsidized housing scenarios.

Relevant Terms - tenant, landlord, residential rental unit - right to repair, repair, repairs - notice, written notice, opportunity to repair - rent deduction, deduction from rent, two months’ rent cap - reimbursement, direct reimbursement by landlord - building official, inspection - violations (as defined in 504B.001) - bids, contractor, servicer, two bids - adverse action, retaliation, eviction, nonrenewal, rent increase, reduced services - private right of action, civil penalty, attorney fees - lease rescission, rent reduction - emergency repairs, short-term rental property - federal tax provisions (26 U.S.C. 6041)