Broken Fridge....asking landlord for rent deduction

[ua1176]

hi OOT,

i rent an apartment. my refrigerator broke on Tuesday June 19. my landlord is a great guy in general and was totally on the ball and had an independent repairman there 24 hours later.

the repair dude says the compressor is broken. my landlord calls sears about getting a new compressor (fridge is only like a year old and still under warranty). Sears tells my landlord they can't come until the 29th. my landlord bitches at them but to no avail.

Sears dude comes on the 29th. without the compressor. apparently he needs to see for himself that there's actually a broken compressor. god forbid he trust the word of the repair guy.

Sears guy orders a compressor. it comes in a few days. Sears now says they can't come fix it until July 9. my landlord bitches at them more, but again to no avail.

so what sort of financial compensation am i entitled to here for having been fridge-less from June 19-July 9?

jon

[Kevin8423]

Seems like he did just about everything he could to get you a working fridge as quickly as possible, and while I wouldn't be shocked if he did lower your rent for the month IMO I don't think he should and don't really think you should even ask.

[miajag]

He doesn't owe you anything.

[firstyearclay]

Unfortunately you are effd. The landlord was reasonable and could offer you a rent reduction as a favor, but he is not required by law.

fyc

[FlushTheToilet]

Dude, your landlord rocks. Buy him a beer. And ask him to buy the house I rent.

[ua1176]

ok- the first few replies were EXACTLY synonymous with my opinion on the issue. i wasn't going to ask for anything.

i am splitting a 2BR apartment with another guy, and other dude is dead-set on asking for several hundred dollars.

the vehemence with which he's been arguing his point has me wondering if i'm totally wrong on this one.

[slickpoppa]

[ QUOTE ]
Seems like he did just about everything he could to get you a working fridge as quickly as possible, and while I wouldn't be shocked if he did lower your rent for the month IMO I don't think he should and don't really think you should even ask.

[/ QUOTE ]

The fact that the landlord tried his hardest doesn't change the fact that the OP didn't have a fridge for 20 days. The duty is on the landlord to keep the appliances in working order. His inability to get the fridge repaired in time may have just been bad luck, but the compensation for that bad luck should be paid for by the landlord, not the tenant.

Edit: I'm making a fairness argument here, not a legal one. I think it would be reasonable to ask for a rent reduction, but if they shoot you down, you should probably just chalk it up as a loss.

Also, it doesn't appear that the landlord did everything possible to get the fridge fixed. He did everything possible to get the fridge fixed for free. He could have called someone else to repair the fridge, but he decided that he would rather you go without a fridge for 20 days than pay someone to fix the fridge.

[jba]

how do people still ask legal questions without mentioning the state they live in?

anyways I've never heard of anywhere where a landlord is required by law to give you a fridge, it's just become standard. is there anything about a fridge in your lease?

probably you are SOL. how much damage was there? did you have a bunch of spoiled food or just warmed up beer?

[ua1176]

i live in NY, for whatever that's worth.

i had approximately $75 of food that became useless. other dude had about $60.

[raphet99]

[ QUOTE ]
i live in NY, for whatever that's worth.

i had approximately $75 of food that became useless. other dude had about $60.

[/ QUOTE ]

Then ask for $135. Seems fair.