DO NOT TAKE ANY UNILATERAL ACTION WITHOUT CONSULTING A COMPETENT LEGAL AUTHORITY. I’m not a lawyer, but I am in law school and I recently learned about this. You are probably entitled to relief, including possibly paying less rent b/c of your landlord’s breach of the warranty of habitability, but if you take action on your own, you could end up as the breacher and on the hook. Better to first bring up the complaint with the landlord, ask him to fix it and ask if you can deduct from this months rent. If he’s a decent human being, he’ll do the right thing. If not, talk to a lawyer who can advise you on the best way to proceed. Of course, lawyers are expensive, and it may just be worth it to let this slide. But whatever you do, don’t do it without first checking to make sure you don’t mess yourself up.
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