How to get landlords to keep their end of the maintenance bargain.

Renters often feel stuck with less-than-ideal living conditions. Maybe the drip, drip, drip of your leaking bathroom faucet is driving you insane. There's an unsightly hole in your living room carpet. Or the paint in your kitchen has gone from crisp white to the dingy yellow of spoiled milk. These aren't huge problems and don't justify a move. But you don't just have to live with them, right?

Landlords Must Fix Major Problems

Your landlord is responsible for keeping your unit in a habitable, or livable, condition. The landlord must keep the structure of the building sound, including stairways, floors, and roofs; keep electrical, heating, and plumbing systems operating safely; supply hot and cold water in reasonable amounts; and exterminate infestations of pests such as cockroaches.

Keep in mind, however, that if a problem is the result of your own carelessness -- such as a vermin infestation caused by your poor housekeeping -- the repair bill will properly be forwarded to you. If you don't pay it, the amount may be taken out of your security deposit.

Landlords May Have to Make Minor Repairs

What about the annoying problems most tenants face, like leaky faucets, old paint, torn screens, or worn flooring? While these types of problems can be unpleasant or inconvenient, they don't make the unit uninhabitable. Does the landlord have to repair them?

Whether your landlord must take care of a minor repair depends upon a number of factors, beginning with the nature of the problem. Purely cosmetic repairs are not legally required. Mildewed grout or worn carpet, for example, are less likely to require a landlord's attention than are loose tiles that make the shower unusable or holes in carpeting that could trip someone.

If you're not sure whether your landlord is legally required to make a repair, check to see if your specific complaint is addressed by: