Rent Strike 101: Seizing Your Legal Right to Withhold Your Rent
Tenants in New York State has a legal right to safe and habitable homes. It is called the Warranty of Habitability. When this right is violated by a landlord tenants have a legal right to withhold their rent. This means that if you have no hot water, no heat, rodent infestations, broken appliances, leaking pipes, mold, or other issues that render your apartment less habitable or even hazardous, you landlord has a legal obligation to address it. When they don’t, you can withhold your rent.
Landlords are not always honest actors, so rent strikes are not without risks, but these risks can be mitigated.
The printable handout below outlines the risks and mitigations strategies tenants can to safely engage to hold their landlords accountable and return their homes to safe and habitable conditions.
