Tenant's Ability to Repair and Deduct in Oregon
Full Question:
Answer:
I'm not certain of the nature of the question and what the tenant's claim of need for repair is. An implied term in residential rental leases is the warranty of habitability. If the landlord causes the rental to become uninhabitable or fails to make repairs so that the premises are uninhabitable, a constructive eviction may occur. This may allow the tenant to withhold rent, repair the problem and deduct the cost from the rent, or recover damages. Oregon statutes allow a tenant to deduct repairs from rent if they don't exceed $300. Before the tenant may deduct repairs from rent, the landlord must be given notice and a reasonable time to perform the repair.
Contracts are agreements that are legally enforceable. A contract is an agreement between two parties that creates an obligation to do or refrain from doing a particular thing. The purpose of a contract is to establish the terms of the agreement by which the parties have fixed their rights and duties. An oral contract is an agreement made with spoken words and either no writing or only partially written. An oral contract may generally be enforced the same as a written agreement. However, it is much more difficult with an oral contract to prove its existence or the terms. Oral contracts also usually have a shorter time period within which a person seeking to enforce their contract right must sue. A written contract generally provides a longer time to sue than for breach of an oral contract. Contracts are mainly governed by state statutory and common (judge-made) law and private law. Private law generally refers to the terms of the agreement between the parties, as parties have freedom to override many state law requirements regarding formalities of contracts. Each state has developed its own common law of contracts, which consists of a body of jurisprudence developed over time by trial and appellate courts on a case-by-case basis.
An unjustifiable failure to perform all or some part of a contractual duty is a breach of contract. A legal action for breach of contract arises when at least one party's performance does not live up to the terms of the contract and causes the other party to suffer economic damage or other types of measurable injury. A lawsuit for breach of contract is a civil action and the remedies awarded are designed to place the injured party in the position they would be in if not for the breach. Remedies for contractual breaches are not designed to punish the breaching party. The five basic remedies for breach of contract include the following: money damages, restitution, rescission, reformation, and specific performance. A money damage award includes a sum of money that is given as compensation for financial losses caused by a breach of contract. Parties injured by a breach are entitled to the benefit of the bargain they entered, or the net gain that would have accrued but for the breach. The type of breach governs the extent of damages that may be recovered. Restitution is a remedy designed to restore the injured party to the position occupied prior to the formation of the contract. Parties seeking restitution may not request to be compensated for lost profits or other earnings caused by a breach. Instead, restitution aims at returning to the plaintiff any money or property given to the defendant under the contract. Plaintiffs typically seek restitution when contracts they have entered are voided by courts due to a defendant's incompetence or incapacity. Rescission is the name for the remedy that terminates the contractual duties of both parties, while reformation is the name for the remedy that allows courts to change the substance of a contract to correct inequities that were suffered. In order to have a rescission, both parties to the contract must be placed in the position they occupied before the contract was made. Courts have held that a party may rescind a contract for fraud, incapacity, duress, undue influence, material breach in performance of a promise, or mistake, among other grounds. Specific performance is an equitable remedy that compels one party to perform, as nearly as practicable, his or her duties specified by the contract. Specific performance is available only when money damages are inadequate to compensate the plaintiff for the breach
Promissory estoppel is a term used in contract law that applies where, although there may not otherwise be an enforceable contract, because one party has relied on the promise of the other, it would be unfair not to enforce the agreement. Promissory estoppel arises from a promise which the promisor should reasonably expect to induce action or forebearance of a definite and substantial character on the part of the promisee and which does induce such action or forebearance in binding if injustice can be avoided only by enforcement of the promise.
Detrimental reliance is a term commonly used to force another to perform their obligations under a contract, using the theory of promissory estoppel. Promissory estoppel may apply when a promise was made; reliance on the promise was reasonable or foreseeable; there was actual and reasonable reliance on the promise; the reliance was detrimental; and injustice can only be prevented by enforcing the promise. Detrimental reliance must be shown to involve reliance that is reasonable, which is a determination made on an individual case-by-case basis, taking all factors into consideration. Detrimental means that some type of harm is suffered. Reasonable reliance is usually referred to as a theory of recovery in contract law. It was what a prudent person might believe and act upon based on something told by another. Sometimes a person acts in reliance on the promise of a profit or other benefit, only to learn that the statements or promises were either incorrect or were exaggerated. The one who acted to their detriment in reasonable reliance may recover damages for the costs of his/her actions or demand performance. Reasonable reliance connotes the use of the standard of ordinary and average person.
The following is an Oregon statute:
90.368 Repair of minor habitability defect.
(1) As used in this section, "minor habitability defect":
(a) Means a defect that may reasonably be repaired for not more than
$300, such as the repair of leaky plumbing, stopped up toilets or faulty
light switches.
(b) Does not mean the presence of mold, radon, asbestos or lead-based
paint.
(2) If, contrary to ORS 90.320, the landlord fails to repair a minor
habitability defect, the tenant may cause the repair of the defect and
deduct from the tenant's subsequent rent obligation the actual and
reasonable cost of the repair work, not to exceed $300.
(3)(a) Prior to causing a repair under subsection (2) of this section,
the tenant shall give the landlord written notice:
(A) Describing the minor habitability defect; and
(B) Stating the tenant's intention to cause the repair of the defect and
deduct the cost of the repair from a subsequent rent obligation if the
landlord fails to make the repair by a specified date.
(b) The specified date for repair contained in a written notice given to
a landlord under this subsection must be at least seven days after the
date the notice is given to the landlord.
(c) If the landlord fails to make the repair by the specified date;, the
tenant may use the remedy provided by subsection (2) of this section.
(d) Service or delivery of the required written notice shall be made as
provided under ORS 90.155.
(4)(a) Any repair work performed under this section must be performed in
a workmanlike manner and be in compliance with state statutes, local
ordinances and the state building code.
(b) The landlord may specify the people to perform the repair work if
the landlord's specifications are reasonable and do not diminish the
tenant's rights under this section.
(c) The tenant may not perform work to repair the defect.
(d) To deduct the repair cost from the rent, the tenant must provide to
the landlord a written statement, prepared by the person who made the
repair, showing the actual cost of the repair.
(5) A tenant may not cause the repair of a defect under this section if:
(a) Within the time specified in the notice, the landlord substantially
repairs the defect;
(b) After the time specified in the notice, but before the tenant causes
the repair to be made, the landlord substantially repairs the defect;
(c) The tenant has prevented the landlord from making the repair;
(d) The defect was caused by a deliberate or negligent act or omission
of the tenant or of a person on the premises with the tenant's consent;
(e) The tenant knew of the defect for more than six months before giving
notice under this section; or
(f) The tenant has previously used the remedy provided by this section
for the same occurrence of the defect.
(6) If the tenant proceeds under this section, the tenant may not
proceed under ORS 90.360(1) as to that breach, but may use any other
available remedy in addition to the remedy provided by this section.
90.320 Landlord to maintain premises in habitable condition;
agreement with tenant to maintain premises.
(1) A landlord shall at all times during the tenancy maintain the
dwelling unit in a habitable condition. For purposes of this section, a
dwelling unit shall be considered unhabitable if it substantially lacks:
(a) Effective waterproofing and weather protection of roof and exterior
walls, including windows and doors;
(b) Plumbing facilities which conform to applicable law in effect at the
time of installation, and maintained in good working order;
(c) A water supply approved under applicable law, which is:
(A) Under the control of the tenant or landlord and is capable of
producing hot and cold running water;
(B) Furnished to appropriate fixtures;
(C) Connected to a sewage disposal system approved under applicable law;
and
(D) Maintained so as to provide safe drinking water and to be in good
working order to the extent that the system can be controlled by the
landlord;
(d) Adequate heating facilities which conform to applicable law at the
time of installation and maintained in good working order;
(e) Electrical lighting with wiring and electrical equipment which
conform to applicable law at the time of installation and maintained in
good working order;
(f) Buildings, grounds and appurtenances at the time of the commencement
of the rental agreement in every part safe for normal and reasonably
foreseeable uses, clean, sanitary and free from all accumulations of
debris, filth, rubbish, garbage, rodents and vermin, and all areas under
control of the landlord kept in every part safe for normal and reasonably
foreseeable uses, clean, sanitary and free from all accumulations of
debris, filth, rubbish, garbage, rodents and vermin;
(g) Except as otherwise provided by local ordinance or by written
agreement between the landlord and the tenant, an adequate number of
appropriate receptacles for garbage and rubbish in clean condition and
good repair at the time of the commencement of the rental agreement, and
the landlord shall provide and maintain appropriate serviceable
receptacles thereafter and arrange for their removal;
(h) Floors, walls, ceilings, stairways and railings maintained in good
repair;
(i) Ventilating, air conditioning and other facilities and appliances,
including elevators, maintained in good repair if supplied or required to
be supplied by the landlord;
(j) Safety from fire hazards, including a working smoke alarm or smoke
detector, with working batteries if solely battery-operated, provided only
at the beginning of any new tenancy when the tenant first takes possession
of the premises, as provided in ORS 479.270, but not to include the
tenant's testing of the smoke alarm or smoke detector as provided in ORS
90.325(6); or
(k) Working locks for all dwelling entrance doors, and, unless contrary
to applicable law, latches for all windows, by which access may be had to
that portion of the premises which the tenant is entitled under the rental
agreement to occupy to the exclusion of others and keys for such locks
which require keys.
(2) The landlord and tenant may agree in writing that the tenant is to
perform specified repairs, maintenance tasks and minor remodeling only if:
(a) The agreement of the parties is entered into in good faith and not
for the purpose of evading the obligations of the landlord;
(b) The agreement does not diminish the obligations of the landlord to
other tenants in the premises; and
(c) The terms and conditions of the agreement are clearly and fairly
disclosed and adequate consideration for the agreement is specifically
stated.
(3) Any provisions of this section that reasonably apply only to a
structure that is used as a home, residence or sleeping place shall not
apply to a manufactured dwelling, recreational vehicle or floating home
where the tenant owns the manufactured dwelling, recreational vehicle or
floating home, rents the space and, in the case of a dwelling or home, the
space is not in a facility. Manufactured dwelling or floating home
tenancies in which the tenant owns the dwelling or home and rents space in
a facility shall be governed by ORS 90.730, not by this section.