What to do if your landlord breaks the contract

Overview

If your landlord seriously fails to meet their obligations — most commonly, not carrying out repairs needed to keep the property habitable — the LAU gives you the right to demand they fulfil the contract, or to end it and seek compensation for any resulting loss.

Requirements

• Applies when a landlord fails to meet a genuine contractual obligation, most typically habitability repairs under LAU article 21
• You'll generally need to show the breach is serious and that you gave the landlord the chance to address it first

Step-by-step process

• Document the breach clearly in writing, including dates and any impact on you
• Formally request the landlord resolve the issue, giving a reasonable deadline
• If they don't, you can choose to either continue demanding they fulfil their obligations, or move to end the contract
• If you have suffered a concrete, demonstrable loss (for example, temporary accommodation costs, or damage to belongings), you can claim compensation alongside ending the contract
• If it isn't resolved directly, regional consumer offices can mediate, and as a last resort the matter can go to court

Required documents

• Written correspondence documenting the breach and your requests
• Evidence of the breach (photos, inspection reports)
• Receipts or evidence of any loss you're claiming compensation for

Common mistakes

• Withholding rent unilaterally in response to a breach, rather than following the formal process — this can expose you to a non-payment claim from the landlord
• Not giving the landlord a clear, documented chance to fix the issue before escalating
• Assuming any inconvenience qualifies — the breach generally needs to be serious enough to genuinely affect your use of the property

Practical tips

• Keep every piece of correspondence, even seemingly minor ones — a pattern of unanswered requests is often what makes a case clear-cut later
• If you're considering ending the contract over a landlord's breach, get advice first, since incorrectly invoking this can leave you exposed if the breach isn't judged serious enough

How Tuchati can help

Tuchati can help you understand whether your situation qualifies as a genuine breach and what your realistic options are.