Can a GA Tenant withhold rent for a broken Fridge?

Question

Hi BP!First- I am not the landlord or tenant in this scenario. My mother called and asked my advice since I am a Landlord in WI.The tenants Fridge died and he lost all his freezer/fridge food. The Landlord is saying it will take 10+ days to get a new fridge in there. Can the tenant withhold pro-rated rent for the days without a fridge? I'm unfamiliar with how that works in GA.Thank you,Rich

Nathan Gesner · Answer

First, I can't understand why it would take 10 days. I'm in a small town with only two appliance stores within 100 miles and I can still get a fridge in a few days. If the stores were sold out, I could hop on Facebook Marketplace and probably find a decent used one within a few days, even if as a temporary solution.

Second, the Tenant can't withhold rent because of a bad fridge unless the law specifically allows it, which I have never seen. Did the tenant lose use of the bathroom? Is the roof leaking? Did all the electric go out? No! They lost use of one appliance. So even if they were going to withhold rent, they could only withhold a portion pertaining to the value of the fridge. In other words, not much.

Third, even when a tenant is authorized to withhold rent, they usually have to follow a process that involves serving formal notice of a complaint to the Landlord and then giving the Landlord time to rectify the problem. In the states I've investigated, the law usually gives the Landlord up to 14 days to correct the problem.

Fourth, this is a great opportunity to talk to the tenant about renter's insurance which could cover their $500 of ribeye steaks and crab they just loaded the freezer with last night (I hear this almost every time a fridge breaks).

Finally, this is a business but there's nothing wrong with acting like a kind human. Pack up some coolers and bags of ice and run them over to the tenant immediately to save their food. Buy them a couple pizza coupons. Do something to show empathy and treat them the way you would want to be treated without going overboard.

Ben Hilldorfer · Answer

It doesn't look like this is covered well in the Georgia state statues:

• Tenant Allowed to Withhold Rent for Failure to Provide Essential Services (Water, Heat, etc.): No Statute
• Tenant Allowed to Repair and Deduct Rent: No Statute

Source: https://www.landlordology.com/georgia-landlord-tenant-laws/

JD Martin · Answer

Unless the refrigerator is some kind of high-end special order, 10+ days is an unreasonable amount of time for a tenant to wait. And even if it was the landlord, if the fridge was provided as part of the rental, has some obligation to either put the tenant up or provide some acceptable temporary solution, such as a used fridge parked somewhere to use while waiting. Can they withhold rent for the fridge being out? That's really a question for the court to answer but I don't think you'd find many courts sympathetic to the landlord in that question; I can go down to Lowes or Home Depot and have a brand new fridge by tomorrow morning.

Jim K. · Answer

Right now, you're going to be waiting a few days for a fridge delivery from the big stores. 10+ days? Probably not. I agree, it's an unreasonable period of time for a fridge. But holding the rent? That gets sticky. When woulf be a reasonable time period to grant the LL? Four days? Five? And how much rent to hold? Was the apartment 50% habitable? 60%? This is the sort of petty little dispute that judges hate and adults should know better than to allow to fester.

I would talk to the LL and express this concern. If the LL decides to be a hardcase about it, fine and good. Withhold the rent, go to court and duke it out, be damned sure your lease is not getting renewed.

But the LL may not be stupid about this and acknowledge your legitimate grievance, and make amends, and the relationship may not suffer irreparable harm. It's worth a shot.

Theresa Harris · Answer

It shouldn't take 10 days for a new fridge.  You should be able to get one delivered within 1-2 days.

Gary Faraon · Answer

@Richard Davis III

Greetings, call a property manager local to the area and ask their expertise. Massage the question.

John Teachout · Answer

Remember that laws vary by state and one can't impute their local laws to some other state.

Georgia is overall a landlord friendly state and I don't believe that someone can withhold rent to make a repair other than in exceptional cases.

That said, we don't even provide a fridge in our Georgia properties. They aren't required. The other appliances are noted in the contract as "convenience items" and the tenant is responsible to maintain or repair them. we will repair the range, over the range microwave or hood, water heater and HVAC. If we leave a fridge in a property because there was one there, we make it clear we won't repair or replace it if it breaks.

So back to the OP, the tenant needs to read their contract. Withholding rent could get them evicted. It doesn't sound like they  "replaced" the fridge and are withholding rent to pay for that, it sounds like they want to withhold rent as leverage for the repair to be made.

All that said, if a covered appliance is broken in one of our properties, it will be hours and maybe a few days before an action plan is underway. 10 days seems excessive for a fridge but we probably don't have the whole story, maybe they're waiting on parts or something. And if the tenant lost food, their renter's insurance should cover that.

Richard Davis III · Answer

Thank you both!!!

Jon Reed · Answer

I am not sure about GA... but a lease agreement usually does not have anything written in that says "tenant only pays rent when all appliances are working".

So... tenant must pay rent, even if the fridge goes out.

Can a GA Tenant withhold rent for a broken Fridge?

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