Can a tenant withhold rent if repairs are not made?
Not for repairs. A tenant who withholds rent to force repairs is simply in arrears; the route is an application to the director for an order requiring the landlord to do the work. There is one narrow case where the Act does suspend rent, and it is unrelated to repairs: where the landlord has failed to give the tenant a copy of the signed rental agreement, section 7(4) suspends the obligation to pay rent until the landlord provides it. Even then the rent is not forgiven: once the landlord complies, the tenant pays all the rent withheld (s.7(5)).
- Where this comes from
- Section 42 (application to the director); Section 7(4)–(5), Residential Tenancies Act, 2018 (Newfoundland and Labrador)
- Last reviewed