withholding rent
Refusing landlord payment
Withholding rent is a tenant's deliberate refusal to pay rent, typically as leverage to force a landlord to make repairs or address habitability issues.
In some jurisdictions, tenants have legal protection when withholding rent for documented violations: The building had no heat for two weeks, so the tenants began withholding rent.
The tactic can also be a form of protest or collective action in tenant organizing.
- tenantOne who rents property
- landlordProperty owner renting out
- tenant rightsLessee's legal entitlements
- leaseTemporary use contract
- month to monthRenewed each period
protest · collective action · strike · escrow · dispute · repair · housing · apartment · housing code · unpaid · arrears · notice · court · legal action · deposit · negligence · bad faith · slumlord
- tenancytenant, tenancy, lease agreement, landlord, tenancies