A tenant whose landlord fails to make necessary repairs may be entitled to an abatement or reduction of rent.1 However, unlike in some other jurisdictions, a tenant in Louisiana may not unilaterally withhold rent where a landlord fails to make repairs. Rather, a line of cases hold that a tenant’s available remedies are (1) to do repair and deduct under C.C. art. 2694, or (2) to terminate the lease and surrender the premises to the landlord.2 A tenant may obtain lease dissolution or diminution of rent where use of the leased premises is “substantially impaired” under La. C.C. art. 2715 by agreement of the parties, or by seeking a judicial determination.3 Because of this case law, it is advisable for a tenant to sue affirmatively for a rent reduction or abatement rather than unilaterally withholding rent.4 At least one court has awarded a tenant reimbursement for rent paid while the home was uninhabitable.5
In some circumstances, a tenant may regard their lease as dissolved without suing for dissolution where the landlord has failed to perform the landlord's obligations.6
- 1La. C.C. arts. 2715, 2693 (tenant displaced due to repairs that cannot wait until the end of lease).
- 2727 Toulouse, L.L.C. v. Bistro at the Maison De Ville, L.L.C., 2012-1014 (La. App. 4 Cir. 8/21/13), 122 So. 3d 1152, 1162; Degrey v. Fox, 205 So. 2d 849, 852 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1968); Cameron v. Krantz, 299 So. 2d 919, 922 (La. App. 3 Cir. 1974); New Hope Gardens, Ltd. v. Lattin, 530 So. 2d 1207, 1212 (La. App. 3 Cir. 1988); R & E Petroleum, LLC v. LKM Convenience, LLC, 22-238 (La. App. 5 Cir. 2/1/23), 2023 WL 1431992. But see Tales IP, LLC v. Common-Camp, LLC, No. CV 19-11339, 2019 WL 5785092, at *2 (E.D. La. Nov. 6, 2019) (declining to evict where withheld funds were placed in the court registry). On the repair-and-deduct remedy, see Section 11.3.
- 3727 Toulouse, 112 So. 3d at 1163; R & E Petroleum, 22-238, 2023 WL 1431992 (tenant may seek judicial determination of diminution of rent under La. C.C. art. 2715).
- 4La. C.C. art. 2693. Where an affirmative suit for abatement or reduction of rent is not possible, advocates can still argue abatement as an affirmative defense to eviction. NOLA E., LLC v. Sims, 2018-0623 (La. App. 4 Cir. 02/13/19), 265 So. 3d 1147, 1149 (court erred in refusing to allow tenant to submit evidence of substandard conditions when he claimed abatement under Article 2693 as a defense to eviction).
- 5Green v. ABC Rentals, 51461 (La. App. 2 Cir. 06/21/17), 224 So. 3d 1165, 1168–69 (affirming sizable award of damages plus the return of rental payments to lessee for total loss of use of apartment in uninhabitable condition).
- 6La. C.C. arts. 2013, 2015, 2016, 2719.