Reduce the amount of rent that you pay, because of the problem. The amount you should hold back depends on how bad the problem is—the worse the problem, the more rent you may withhold. It is a good idea to keep the rent that you withhold in a separate bank account, so that you can pay the money later if a court decides you owe rent. Then, if your landlord tries to evict you and the judge rules that the housing conditions were not as bad as you thought, you will be able to pay the rent the judge says you owe.
Repair the defect yourself or have a professional repair it and deduct the cost from your rent payments. The repairs must be necessary to make the home safe and livable and must be reasonable in price. Get a signed receipt. When your rent comes due, give your landlord a copy of the receipt and pay the difference between your rent and the cost of the repairs. The cost of the repairs cannot be more than the amount of rent you owe for the lease term—for example, if you have a month-to-month lease, the repairs cannot cost more than one month’s rent.
Legal aid may be available to get back the rent you paid when your home was not fit or to get compensation for any injuries or other damages you suffer because of the landlord’s failure to make repairs.
This will require the landlord to make repairs.
If you move out, write to your landlord to provide your moving date and notify him/her you are moving because the housing conditions were not repaired. You should only use this option if the unit is totally unlivable. Your landlord may sue you for all the rent remaining due on the lease, so you must be able to show you had no other alternative.
Your landlord must obey any housing code which covers the place where you live. In some cases, the local code enforcement officer can make the landlord fix the problem, or at least help prove the problem really exists. The same is true for the Health Department. Contact your local government to see if help is available.