Can a tenant withhold rent or repair and deduct?
In many states, yes, but only after the tenant gives written notice and the landlord fails to fix a serious problem within a set time, and the amount is capped. Washington lets tenants deduct up to two months' rent per repair, Massachusetts up to four months' rent in a year after a certified code violation, and Florida lets tenants withhold rent after a seven-day written notice. The safest move for an owner is fixing serious problems before those clocks run out.
Two different remedies
Repair and deduct means the tenant pays someone to fix the problem and subtracts the cost from rent. Rent withholding means the tenant stops paying some or all rent until the problem is fixed, usually with the money set aside or paid into court. States allow one, both or neither, each with its own steps. A tenant who skips a step generally loses the protection and is simply behind on rent.
Three states side by side
| Washington | Massachusetts | Florida | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Remedy | Repair and deduct | Repair and deduct; also defenses in an eviction for nonpayment | Withhold rent after notice |
| Trigger | Written notice; landlord fails to begin within the time allowed (24 hours, 72 hours or 10 days by type) | Code violation certified by the board of health or code agency; owner fails to begin within 5 days or finish within 14 after notice | Material noncompliance; 7 days after written notice saying the tenant will withhold |
| Cap | Contractor repairs: two months' rent per repair and two months' rent in any 12 months. Tenant's own small repairs: one month's rent | Four months' rent in any 12 months | Court decides the reduced rent |
| Catch | Repairs must meet code; landlord can recover damage from negligent repairs | Does not cover conditions the tenant caused or where the tenant denied access | In an eviction, the tenant must pay the alleged rent into the court registry or lose the defense |
Sources: RCW 59.18.070, RCW 59.18.100, M.G.L. c.111 s.127L, M.G.L. c.239 s.8A, Fla. Stat. 83.60. Summaries as read on 2026-10-29; check the full text and your own state.
Washington: the clock depends on the defect
Washington sorts defects by urgency. Loss of hot or cold water, heat or electricity, or anything imminently hazardous to life: the landlord must begin within 24 hours. Loss of a landlord-supplied refrigerator, range and oven, or a major plumbing fixture: within 72 hours. Everything else: within 10 days (RCW 59.18.070). If that time passes without work starting, the tenant may hire a licensed or registered contractor and deduct up to two months' rent per repair, with no more than two months' rent in total in any 12 months (RCW 59.18.100).
Example a made-up Seattle tenant pays $1,800 a month and reports a dead range and oven on Monday morning. The owner does not start the repair by Thursday morning, 72 hours later, so the tenant hires a licensed appliance technician for $420 and deducts it. The deduction is well under the cap of two months' rent, $3,600. The owner could have spent the same $420 by Wednesday and kept control of who did the work.
Massachusetts: certification comes first
In Massachusetts the repair and deduct right under chapter 111, section 127L starts with an inspector. A board of health or code agency must certify a violation that may endanger or materially impair the tenant's health, safety or well-being. After written notice, the owner has 5 days to begin repairs or contract for them and 14 days to substantially complete them, unless the agency or court sets a shorter time. If the owner misses that, the tenant may repair and deduct up to four months' rent in any 12-month period (M.G.L. c.111 s.127L).
Separately, in an eviction for nonpayment, a tenant may raise bad conditions as a defense or counterclaim if the landlord knew of them before the tenant fell behind, and the court can order rent paid into court while the case is pending (M.G.L. c.239 s.8A).
Florida: notice, then the court registry
Florida's remedy is withholding, not repair and deduct. A tenant may raise the landlord's material noncompliance as a defense to an eviction for nonpayment if 7 days have passed after the tenant delivered written notice that names the problem and says the tenant intends to withhold rent because of it. In the eviction, a tenant raising any defense other than payment must pay the alleged rent into the court registry; failing to do so within 5 days, not counting weekends and legal holidays, after being served waives every defense except payment (Fla. Stat. 83.60).
What an owner should do when a notice arrives
- Write down the date and time the notice arrived. Every clock above runs from it.
- Decide the urgency category the same day and schedule the repair inside the shortest deadline that might apply.
- Reply to the tenant in writing with the plan and date.
- If you need entry, give the notice your state requires; tenants who unreasonably refuse access may lose the remedy in some states, Massachusetts included.
- Keep every invoice and message in one place for that unit.
- If a deduction does arrive, check it against the cap and the steps, and talk to your attorney before treating it as unpaid rent.
Keeping the record with DoorKeeping
In DoorKeeping, each property keeps its own ledger of rent charges and payments, so when a tenant deducts a repair you can record the credit and see the exact history of that unit's account by asking your AI app. Any legal step, such as a notice, waits for your one-tap approval. DoorKeeping is not a law firm and gives no legal advice.
Sources
- Revised Code of Washington 59.18.070, Landlord failure to perform duties, read Oct 29, 2026
- Revised Code of Washington 59.18.100, Tenant remedies, repairs and deductions, read Oct 29, 2026
- Massachusetts General Laws chapter 111, section 127L, read Oct 29, 2026
- Massachusetts General Laws chapter 239, section 8A, read Oct 29, 2026
- Florida Statutes 83.60, Defenses to action for rent or possession, read Oct 29, 2026
Questions
- Can a tenant just stop paying rent because of a repair?
- Not without following the state's steps. In Florida, for example, the tenant must give 7 days' written notice first and, if sued, pay the alleged rent into the court registry.
- How much can a tenant deduct for a repair?
- It depends on the state. Washington caps contractor repairs at two months' rent per repair and two months' rent in a year; Massachusetts caps deductions at four months' rent in any 12 months.
- Can a lease ban repair and deduct?
- Often not. Massachusetts, for example, says lease terms that waive the protections in chapter 239, section 8A are void. Check your state before relying on a lease clause.