In lieu of the remedy allowing a tenant to withhold rent, Louisiana provides tenants with a repair-and-deduct remedy.1
If the landlord does not make necessary repairs to the premises after reasonable notice, the tenant can make the repairs himself and deduct the reasonable cost of the repairs from future rent due.2 In the alternative, the lessee can sue the landlord for the cost of repairs.3 This remedy may be used by tenant to effectuate necessary repairs to the leased premises, as an affirmative defense to an eviction for non-payment of rent,4 and as a defense or set-off to an ordinary action for rent.5 To succeed in any of these uses, the tenant must carefully comply with the requirements of La. C.C. art. 2694.
Because of the technical nature of the repair-and-deduct law, it is best to carefully plan this defense with the tenant before rent is withheld and the repairs made. If the tenant fails to prove one or more elements of a repair-and-deduct defense, it may be possible to avoid lease cancellation by convincing the court that the tenant acted in good faith.6 A tenant’s rights under Article 2694 supersede any landlord instructions to the contrary (for example, where the landlord prohibits the tenant from making repairs). If a tenant withholds rent but does not use the money to make repairs because the landlord prohibited the tenant from making the repairs, the repair-and-deduct defense fails.7
- 1A tenant may also bring an action for money damages. See Section 11.2.3.
- 2La. C.C. art. 2694.
- 3Id.
- 4Lake Forest, Inc. v. Katz & Besthoff No. 9, Inc., 391 So. 2d 1286 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1980); Cameron v. Krantz, 299 So. 2d 919 (La. App. 3 Cir. 1974); Evans v. Does, 283 So. 2d 804, 807 (La. App. 2d Cir. 1973); Leggio v. Manion, 172 So. 2d 748 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1965).
- 5Brignac v. Boisdore, 288 So. 2d 31 (La. 1973), aff’g, 272 So. 2d 463 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1973); Degrey v. Fox, 205 So. 2d 849 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1968).
- 6Plunkett v. D & L Fam. Pharmacy,, 562 So. 2d 1048, 1052 (La. App. 3 Cir. 1990).
- 7Leggio, 172 So. 2d at 751.