Negotiating a Settlement
Send a letter to your landlord. Communicate your problems and concerns in writing, so you have a record of the dispute. In your letter, provide a brief run-down of the problems you've faced or the issues you've had. If you've notified your landlord about these issues previously, note that in your letter as well. For example, you might write: "The pipe under the sink, which I told you about in August, is still leaking. Even though I notified you of this problem on August 15 and again on September 30, no one has come to repair the pipe. I am concerned about mold growing in the cabinet." You may send a paper letter or an email. However, if you've had problems with your landlord responding to you in the past, you may want to mail the letter using certified mail with return receipt requested so you have proof that your landlord received your letter. If you're sending a hard copy, make a copy of it before you send it so you have it for your records.
Schedule a face-to-face meeting. Despite the general need to have communication in writing, the best way to negotiate is to sit down and talk one-on-one with your landlord. Ideally you should set up a neutral place to meet, such as a nearby coffee shop, rather than meeting in the landlord's office. This way you both have a minimum of distractions. If you must meet your landlord in his or her office, try to schedule your meeting after business hours, when he or she is less likely to be called away.
Gather information. Before your meeting with your landlord, get together documents or other information that supports your position. For example, if there's something in your unit that you believe the landlord should repair, take pictures or a video that shows the problem. You can bring that to your landlord. If you have a dispute about rent payment, bring your cancelled checks or a bank account statement that shows the payments you made. If the landlord is doing something that violates state law, make a copy of the law and bring it with you to show the landlord. This tells him or her that you understand your rights under the law. You also should study your lease carefully and make sure you understand your landlord's policies and aren't violating any of the lease provisions.
Briefly explain your issues. Begin your meeting by giving your landlord the facts of your situation or the problems you have with your rental unit. Be courteous, and avoid insults or personal attacks against your landlord. Stick to the facts, showing your documents or evidence where appropriate. Rather than simply complaining about your landlord's action, or inaction, emphasize that you want to solve the problem at hand. Avoid making threats that you don't intend to act on. For example, if you don't plan to file a lawsuit, don't threaten your landlord with one. Threats put people on the defensive, and your landlord may be unwilling to continue negotiating with you.
Listen to your landlord's side. Really listening and attempting to understand the other side is the key to any healthy and productive negotiation. Give your landlord a chance to speak, and don't interrupt him or her or have an emotional outburst. Indicate to your landlord that you respect his or her concerns and the reasons for acting – or not acting – the way he or she did. Keep in mind that many disputes are the result of misunderstanding. As a businessperson, your landlord should be interested in resolving the problem once you both understand what the problem is.
Explain what you want to happen. Provide your landlord with a brief description of your ideal outcome and how you'd like to see the situation resolved. Avoid being dramatic or going overboard. Maybe you would like to live in your apartment rent free, but that's unlikely to happen regardless of the problems you've had. If you want to stay, emphasize that. You might even want to mention any positive experiences you've had living there. Acknowledge your landlord's concerns or difficulties and address them as appropriate.
Make an offer to help. If there's anything you can do to make it easier for your landlord to meet your demands, offer to meet him or her halfway. For example, if your problem is repairs that need to be made to your unit that have not yet been made, but you know how to do some of them yourself, you might offer to make the repairs yourself and deduct the cost from your rent.
Put the agreement in writing. Come to the meeting prepared with paper and a pen to record any settlement that you and your landlord reach. Don't rely on your landlord to write the agreement down after the fact – he or she may not get it correct, or may change it to be more in his or her favor. When you write it down, make sure both of you have signed it. After the meeting, you can make a copy to send to the landlord for his or her files.
Using Mediation
Write to your landlord requesting mediation. If you are unable to resolve your dispute through face-to-face negotiation, a neutral third party mediator may be able to help you come to a mutually agreeable settlement. Mediation can't go forward unless both parties agree. The process is entirely voluntary, and if the two of you don't reach a compromise, the mediator won't force you to agree to anything. Mediation also has the benefit of being confidential, which your landlord might prefer to a public lawsuit that could do damage to his or her reputation.
Choose a mediation service. Unless your lease agreement specifies a particular mediator to be used in any disputes, you and your landlord will have to agree on which service to use. Free or low-cost community mediation programs that handle landlord-tenant disputes are available in many areas, particularly larger cities and college towns. You typically can find mediators by calling the clerk's office of your county courthouse. Some courts also have links to mediation services on their websites.
Gather documents and information. You want to bring any documents or evidence that support your position with you to mediation. If you have photos or videos of your unit or problems you've encountered, you should bring those along with you – both for your landlord and so the mediator can better understand the issue. You also want to bring along copies you have of any letters you sent to your landlord or notice you provided of an issue that wasn't resolved.
Attend your mediation appointment. You and your landlord will meet your mediator, who will introduce him- or herself and explain a little about the mediation procedure and what to expect. Typically the mediation session begins with each side making an opening statement regarding the dispute. The mediator will encourage you to discuss any issue that you consider important. At the beginning of the mediation session, everything is on the table – even if you aren't able to work out a resolution to all issues.
Proceed with mediation. Although procedures vary among mediation services, generally you and your landlord will be separated after opening statements to meet with the mediator privately. The mediator typically will keep you and your landlord talking even if it seems as though you're not going to reach a solution. Keep in mind that mediators are trained to help two parties understand and work through their problems. You may discover that some other issue is really at the root of the problem, and resolving that is the key to working things out.
Get a written agreement. If you and your landlord come to a compromise that settles your dispute, either in whole or in part, make sure that agreement is memorialized in a written contract signed by both you and your landlord. Keep in mind that the mediator doesn't have any authority to bind you and your landlord to the agreement. However, if you both sign a written agreement it is legally binding to the same extent any other contract would be. Read over the written contract before you sign it and make sure it says what you understand the agreement to be.
Getting Help from State or Local Agencies
File a complaint with the housing safety board. If your dispute concerns conditions of your rental unit that may violate state or local regulations, your local housing board can assist you in resolving the problem. The housing code typically falls under city or county jurisdiction. You can do an online search for "housing code enforcement" followed by the name of your city or county to find the department that you should contact. You typically can file a complaint or request an inspection of your unit. The board will review your request and send you notice of the scheduled inspection date. When making your complaint, you typically must provide your name and contact information, as well as the name and contact information for your landlord.
Check with your state's consumer protection agency. Your state's attorney general's office has a consumer protection division, although these offices typically play a limited role in landlord-tenant disputes. Consumer protection divisions typically get involved in cases where your landlord is operating unfairly or deceptively. However, depending on your state, the office may be able to assist you in asserting your rights under state law.
Find out what other resources are available. Many areas, especially large cities, have tenant associations that can assist you in settling a dispute with your landlord out of court. To find a tenants' rights group in your area, you can start by searching on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's website. A list of HUD-approved housing counseling agencies in each state is available at http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hcs.cfm. The federal agency also has a list of tenants' rights groups in each state at http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/topics/rental_assistance/tenantrights. Just click on your state for links to groups and other agencies. County bar associations also may have resources for resolving landlord-tenant disputes. In some situations you need the government to step in and assist you with the situation, rather than trying to resolve it yourself. For example, if your landlord is discriminating against you for an illegal reason such as race or sex, you should file a fair housing complaint rather than attempting to negotiate with him or her.
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