Local Health Officer Training

Section 5: Solving the Problem

Implied Warranty and Covenant of Habitability

The" implied warranty of habitability" is a legal principle that requires landlords to maintain livable apartment/premises for their tenants and will make the repairs necessary to keep the apartment in that condition. This promise exists because the courts have ruled that all landlords have made that implied promise to their tenants.

The Maine Consumer Law Guide  § 14. 5. Tenants Have a Right to a Livable Apartment

"Warranty of Habitability" - The law states, in part: [B]y law, all landlords in the State of Maine promise that all rented dwelling units are fit for human habitation—that is, they (the dwellings) are reasonably safe and decent places to live.

This means that your landlord must promise that your home is safe and fit to live in.

Therefore, the landlords have to keep the tenant's home safe and in decent condition. This law gives tenants an "implied warranty of habitability."

So what does it mean to say that your landlord is expected to fulfill an implied warranty of habitability? It means that the property owner must:

• Keep basic structural elements of the building, including floors, stairs, walls, and roofs, safe and intact
• Maintain all common areas, such as hallways and stairways, in a safe and clean condition
• Keep electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems and elevators operating safely
• Supply cold and hot water and heat in reasonable amounts at reasonable times
• Provide trash receptacles and arrange for trash pick-up
• Manage known environmental toxins such as lead paint dust and asbestos so that they don't pose a significant danger
• In most states, provide rental property that is reasonably safe from the threat of foreseeable criminal intrusions, and
• Exterminate infestations of rodents and other vermin. In virtually every state, these rights are yours, no matter what the landlord has asked you to sign or agree to. (In narrow situations, landlords and tenants in Maine can agree that certain habitability requirements will be the responsibility of the tenant.) In other words, the landlord cannot shrug off these responsibilities in a "disclaimer" when the tenancy begins. And the landlord cannot effectively ask you to waive your right to them. (Any so-called waiver will not be upheld by a court.)

 

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