10 answers
Pests, bed bugs, leaks, missing heat or hot water, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, lead paint and secondhand smoke — who is responsible and what you can do about each.
Your landlord, in almost every situation — bed bugs are treated as a habitability problem under state law, so once you report them in writing, professional treatment is generally their responsibility, not yours.
Usually your landlord — keeping a rental reasonably free of roaches, mice, and similar pests is generally part of the basic legal duty to provide a livable home, especially when you didn't cause the infestation.
Sometimes — if an infestation makes your home unfit to live in and your landlord doesn't fix it after proper written notice, your state's law may let you end the lease without penalty.
Report it to your landlord in writing immediately — no heat or hot water is treated as an emergency habitability problem under state law, with far faster repair deadlines than routine repairs get.
Not usually, unless your lease already provides it or your city or state law specifically requires it — landlord-tenant law treats air conditioning very differently from heat.
Your landlord almost always installs and maintains smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, though responsibility for things like battery changes can shift to you partway through the tenancy under state and local rules.
Yes, in nearly all pre-1978 rentals — federal law requires landlords to disclose any known lead-based paint hazards, give you an EPA pamphlet, and put a lead warning statement in your lease before you sign.
Report it to your landlord in writing right away and take photos first — a leak is both a repair your landlord must address and a mold risk that gets worse the longer it sits, so speed matters more than for most repairs.
Only sometimes — a landlord is typically responsible for damage to your belongings when their negligence caused it, like ignoring a known leak, but not for most damage outside their control.
Start with a written complaint to your landlord — private landlords aren't required by federal law to ban smoking, but persistent smoke drifting into your unit can still violate your lease, local law, or your right to quiet enjoyment.
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