Who fixes what: repair duties, habitability, and the 24-hour clock
What you must repair, what the tenant owes, how fast you have to act, and why an unanswered repair request is the fastest route to losing a nonpayment case.
The short version
- The implied warranty of habitability cannot be waived by a lease clause in most states.
- Emergencies are measured in hours; ordinary repairs in days. Both start when you were notified.
- Ignoring a habitability request can trigger repair-and-deduct, rent withholding, or a retaliation claim.
- Tenants owe damage they caused; you owe wear, systems, and anything affecting habitability.
- The timestamp on the request is the fact that decides most disputes — not the repair itself.
Maintenance looks like an operational chore and is actually a legal one. Nearly every serious landlord-tenant dispute that is not about money is about a repair — and a surprising number of the money disputes turn out to be about a repair too, because withheld rent usually has a broken heater behind it.
The default split
| Item | Usually the landlord | Usually the tenant |
|---|---|---|
| Heating and cooling | Repair and replacement | Filters, thermostat batteries |
| Plumbing | Leaks, pipes, water heater | Clogs they caused |
| Electrical | Wiring, outlets, panel | Light bulbs, their own devices |
| Appliances you supplied | Repair and replacement | Damage from misuse |
| Pest control | Structural entry, pre-existing infestation | Infestations from their housekeeping |
| Smoke detectors | Install and maintain | Testing, batteries in many states |
| Locks and security | Working locks, exterior doors | Lost key replacement |
| Yard | Trees, structural, drainage | Mowing where the lease says so |
The lease can shift some of the middle column — a single-family tenant commonly takes on lawn care and minor upkeep — but it cannot shift anything that makes the unit habitable. Heat, water, working plumbing, structural safety and freedom from serious infestation stay with you regardless of what anyone signed.
The clock, and when it starts
Response times are usually framed by urgency rather than by a single statutory number:
Emergency — hours, not days
No heat in winter, no water, sewage backup, gas smell, exposed wiring, no working lock on an exterior door, anything that makes the unit unsafe. Acknowledge immediately and get someone out the same day.
Urgent — a day or two
No hot water, refrigerator out, major appliance failure, a leak that is contained but active, air conditioning in serious heat.
Routine — days to a couple of weeks
Dripping tap, a burner out, cosmetic damage, a slow drain. Still acknowledge quickly, even if the fix is scheduled.
What happens if you do not act
Tenants in most states have remedies that do not require your agreement, and they escalate:
- Repair and deduct — the tenant fixes it and subtracts the cost from rent, usually capped and usually requiring prior written notice.
- Rent withholding — rent is held, sometimes paid into escrow or to the court, until the condition is fixed.
- Lease termination — for serious habitability failures, the tenant may be able to leave without penalty.
- Rent abatement — a court reduces rent for the period the unit was not fully habitable.
Charging a tenant for damage they caused
You can bill for damage beyond normal wear, but the same evidentiary standard applies as with deposits: what broke, how you know the tenant caused it, and what it actually cost. A vendor invoice naming the problem is worth far more than a line item.
Two things make these charges stick. First, fix it promptly anyway — leaving damage unrepaired to build a case can create a habitability problem of your own. Second, tell the tenant in writing at the time, not at move-out. A charge that appears months later, with no contemporaneous notice, reads as invented.
What a defensible repair record looks like
| Stage | What to capture |
|---|---|
| Reported | Date and time, who reported it, their description, photos |
| Acknowledged | When you responded and what you said you would do |
| Assigned | Vendor, scheduled date, access arrangements |
| Entry | Notice given before entering, per your state's requirement |
| Completed | Date, what was done, invoice, photos after |
| Closed | Confirmation the tenant considers it resolved |
This is what maintenance ticketing in TenantsRent produces as a by-product: the tenant reports with photos from their portal, every state change is timestamped, and the closed ticket is a record rather than a memory. If you are tracking repairs by text message, the record you will need is scattered across a phone you may not still own.
A working policy
- 1.Give tenants one obvious way to report, and make it written by default.
- 2.Acknowledge every request within 24 hours, even when the fix will take longer.
- 3.Triage by habitability first, cost second.
- 4.Give proper notice before entry — commonly 24 hours, and it is a statutory requirement, not a courtesy.
- 5.Close the loop in writing, and keep the invoice.
Common questions
- Can a lease make the tenant responsible for all repairs?
- Not for anything affecting habitability. In most states the implied warranty of habitability cannot be waived, so a clause assigning heat, water, plumbing or structural safety to the tenant is generally unenforceable. Minor upkeep such as lawn care can usually be assigned.
- How long do I have to fix something?
- It depends on severity and state. Emergencies affecting safety or habitability are measured in hours; ordinary repairs in days to a couple of weeks. The period runs from when the tenant gave notice.
- Can a tenant stop paying rent over a repair?
- In many states, yes — through repair-and-deduct, withholding, or escrow, usually only after written notice and a reasonable opportunity to fix it. Treating that as ordinary nonpayment and moving to evict is how landlords end up facing a retaliation claim.
- Do I have to give notice before entering to make a repair?
- Almost always, commonly 24 hours' written notice, with an exception for genuine emergencies. Entering without required notice can itself be a violation regardless of why you went in.
Stop doing this by hand
TenantsRent automates rent collection, late fees, reminders, and maintenance tickets — and keeps the timestamped record that makes all of the above hold up. $5 per unit per month.
Keep reading
Security deposits: the four rules that cause almost every lawsuit
Deposit disputes are the most common landlord-tenant case in small claims court, and most are lost on process rather than merit. The four rules that decide them.
Rent increases and renewals: notice periods, limits, and the turnover maths
How much notice a rent increase requires, where increases are capped, and the arithmetic that shows why a below-market renewal usually beats a market-rate vacancy.