Question:
Dear Rabbi,
I am writing to ask a halachic question regarding a rental dispute and proposed settlement.
My husband and I were renting an apartment in Tzfat. During the tenancy, there were serious problems with the apartment, including mold, water leaking inside the house, paint damage, and a shower that appeared to have been improperly installed, causing water to leak rather than drain properly. We asked the landlord to repair these issues, but they were not properly resolved.
Because of these ongoing conditions, we felt that we could not reasonably continue living there. We also did not feel it was fair to continue paying full rent and related housing expenses, including taxes/arnona, for an apartment that we could not properly live in.
We consulted with a lawyer, who advised us to pay one additional month of rent as a compromise and then let the matter go, in order to avoid further dispute. We agreed to leave the apartment and pay one more month as a compromise.
My halachic questions are:
When a rented apartment has serious unresolved problems such as mold, leaks, water damage, and an improperly installed shower, is the tenant halachically obligated to continue paying full rent?
If the apartment was not reasonably livable, is there a halachic basis for reducing or withholding rent, or for terminating the lease?
Does the same reasoning apply to arnona/taxes or other housing-related payments for the period when we could not properly live there?
If we agreed to pay one additional month as a compromise, does halacha view that as a valid settlement, even if we may have had a claim that we did not really owe full rent?
The landlord has now said that he will return money to us only if we agree never to bring him/them to a beit din. Is that a proper or valid condition according to halacha?
We wish to handle this correctly according to halacha. What action would you recommend we take. Thank you so much for your time.
Thank you very much for your guidance.
Sincerely,
Answer:
Hello,
It isn't really possible to give you a good answer without hearing what your landlord has to say. However if this is what you already did, and the landlord agrees to return the money to you, then everything is fine and settled.
B"H that you were able to settle things peacefully without having to go to Bais Din
Hatzlocha in your new apartment
