My landlord refuses to make repairs — what can I do?

The lessor's duty, and what the lease cannot do

A lessor must deliver the leased property in a good state of repair in all respects, provide peaceable enjoyment throughout the lease, and maintain it for that purpose (article 1854).

For a dwelling the requirement is restated and strengthened: it must be delivered in good habitable condition and kept that way (article 1910).

The last sentence of that article is the one to remember: a stipulation whereby the tenant acknowledges the dwelling is in good habitable condition is without effect. Having signed a lease with such a clause, or an inspection annex, deprives you of nothing.

The urgent and necessary repair

This is the fastest remedy and the least known. You may undertake a repair or incur an expense even without court authorisation, on two conditions.

First, having attempted to inform the lessor — or having informed them where they do not act in time. Second, that the repair or expense is urgent and necessary to preserve or use the dwelling (article 1868).

You are then entitled to reimbursement of reasonable expenses. The lessor may, however, step in at any time to continue the work themselves.

"Urgent and necessary" is a real bar: an active leak, heating out in winter, a broken lock. Cosmetic refreshing does not qualify.

Getting work authorised and withholding rent

Where the situation is not urgent but the lessor does not act, the remedy is to apply to the court for authorisation to carry out the work.

If it authorises, the court fixes the amount and the conditions. You may then withhold from your rent the sums spent, up to the amount fixed (article 1867).

Order matters: authorised withholding is a right; withholding decided on your own is non-payment, which can lead to resiliation of the lease. Never stop paying without authorisation.

A dwelling unfit for habitation

This is the most serious case and it has its own rules. A dwelling is unfit for habitation where its condition is a serious danger to the health or safety of the occupants or the public, or where it has been declared so by a court or the competent authority (article 1913).

A lessor may neither offer for lease nor deliver such a dwelling. The tenant may refuse to take possession — the lease is then resiliated by operation of law (article 1914).

If the dwelling becomes unfit during the lease, the tenant may abandon it. They must then notify the lessor of its condition before abandoning it or within 10 days after (article 1915). That ten-day window is short and decisive.

Mould, insalubrity, bedbugs

These files are won or lost on evidence more than on law. The principle is clear; what is almost always missing is documentation.

Photograph and date from the first observation. Bring in the municipality or the inspection service: a report from an authority is worth vastly more than a personal account.

Keep medical certificates where health is affected, and the detail of any expenses you were forced to incur.

The first step

Write. A verbal request for repairs leaves no trace, and the lessor will maintain they were never notified.

A dated letter describing the problem, requesting the repair and setting a reasonable time starts everything else: it establishes from when the lessor failed to act.

Keep proof of sending and of receipt. It is the first document you will be asked for.