While not every city, state or province will have the exact same laws for tenant - landlord relations, these are some general steps and processes you can take to get repairs for your unit. For more specific recommendations, check out our blog & research section where we have provided links to reliable sources.
1. Contact your landlord.
This may be done through your property management company's housing portal, via email, or other means.
We strongly recommend that correspondence with your landlord happen in print (email, letter, etc...), so a record is kept. If you do have a conversation in person, send an email after summarizing what was said or agreed upon.
We advise that you attach your completed housing assessment and photos of relevant violations to the correspondence.
2. If your landlord fails to correct these problems, contact your city or states property standards department. You can often find their contact information on your city's website or by dialing 311.
If necessary, as decided by the property standards office, they will set up an inspection your residence.
After the inspector confirms these violations, they will issue an order to the landlord to repair these issues within a set time frame.
It is your responsibility as a tenant to contact the property standards office if these repairs are not completed.
If these repairs are not sufficiently completed within the timeline mentioned above, and the landlord does not appeal the order, then your city may take legal action. Legal action could entail fines or possibly charges being laid against the landlord.
3. Pursue legal action under a Landlord Tenant Board.
Depending on where you live, there may be a landlord tenant board under which you can pursue legal action against your landlord. In some cases landlords may be ordered by this board to make repairs or pay compensation for sub-standard conditions.
Check out our Blog & Research Section for area specific next steps. Everywhere has different laws and should your landlord not fix the issues upon you raising them, the legal process can be very different. We recommend in that situation that you hire an attorney or contact a legal aid clinic for expert advice.