The landlord raised the rent after I paid for major repairs… and told me "I never asked you to"!
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I’ve been renting an apartment for three years. When I moved in there were plumbing and electrical problems. The owner was traveling and busy, and we verbally agreed that I would fix what was necessary and we’d sort out the costs later. I paid a large sum so the apartment would be livable, and after a year the landlord returned and saw it was much improved. When renewing the lease he demanded a big rent increase, saying market prices rose and that the repairs were done for my comfort. When I asked him to deduct part of the repair costs, he said we didn’t have a written agreement and that he could have hired cheaper workers. I feel like I paid to raise the value of his apartment and now I’m being asked to pay the increased rent on top of that. Question: Does a tenant have the right to deduct repair costs despite no written agreement? For discussion: who bears the cost of trusting verbal agreements?
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