Emergency Repair Problems

An emergency repair problem means you have no:

• Running water
• Hot water
• Heat
• Stove or oven
• Electricity
• Bathroom use
• Basic services or facilities, like a missing front or back door or lock, or missing windows.

A condemnation or intent-to-condemn notice is an emergency, since it means that the whole home is unlivable. Any order to move from an inspector in the city where you live can be an emergency, including if you are told to move because your landlord does not have a rental license.

Call the landlord right away. If the landlord will not make the repair or fix the problem causing the emergency, you can file an Emergency Tenant Remedies Action (ETRA). An ETRA is also called an emergency relief action. It is good to have a lawyer help you file an ETRA, but you can also do it on your own. Call your local legal aid office at 1(877) 696-6529 for help or advice.

To file an ETRA, make sure you do these things:

• Fill out the attached form. You can also get a form from the court.
• You must try to tell the landlord 24 hours before you file.
• If you can’t reach the landlord, leave a message giving the 24-hour notice.
• In your 24-hour notice, tell your landlord what your housing emergency is and that you need it fixed within 24 hours or you will file an ETRA. It is important you tell your landlord that you will file.
• If the landlord does not fix the emergency within 24 hours of your notice, you can file the ETRA.
• If you try to reach your landlord to give the 24-hour notice, but can’t get a hold of them, go ahead and file.

There is a filing fee. If you have a low income, you can fill out a court fee waiver form (IFP) to ask the court to let you skip paying. The court has these forms, or you can create one online. 

Bring proof of your low income, like pay stubs, or proof of government assistance.

With an ETRA, you can get a court hearing very fast, usually within 3-7 business days. The court is likely to order the landlord to do the repairs, to make sure the repairs get done, and to set a later court date to deal with rent and money damages.

You can ask the court to:

• Order the landlord to make the repairs right away.
• Let you make the repairs and take the cost off the rent.
• Choose someone else to make repairs or manage the property.
• Reduce the rent until repairs are made.
• Make the landlord pay for a motel, or pay you back, if you need to stay somewhere else.
• Make the landlord give you a different place to stay or pay your costs to move somewhere else.

You can ask the court for money damages like. That means you can ask to be paid back for things like:

• Money back for rent you paid while the repair problems existed.
• Lawyer’s fees.
• Any money you lost because of the problem, like paying to stay somewhere else. Bring proof, like receipts or cancelled checks of what you paid.