Your home, while not perfect, has been your sanctuary for years. You’ve paid your rent, you’ve taken care of the unit, despite its many imperfections. You’ve complained about habitability defects profusely, for years, including that its dilapidated bathroom lacks a shower and bathtub entirely. Despite your prudence, the landlord has not made repairs to the matter, and your home remains uninhabitable through no fault of your own. The missing bathroom shower and bathtub has been in this condition for years. However, you begin to feel that it is not fair. Why should you, the upstanding & rent paying tenant, have paid rent for a home with a dilapidated bathroom and a unit lacking a bathtub and shower entirely. You cannot bathe, and if you could, you probably would likely suffer severe illness due to the dilapidated bathroom, which appears to not have been cleaned for years. You begin to wonder; Does my landlord have to provide a bathtub or shower in my home?
Yes, your landlord must provide at least one working bathtub and shower in your home. McNairy v. C.K. Realty, (2007) 150 Cal. App. 4th 1500, 1503-1504 (A home without a bathtub or shower constitutes a breach of the warranty of habitability); California Civil Code § 1941.1(a)(2), (3); California Health & Safety Code § 17920.3(a)(1). Provided it is not de minimis (minor or not severe), a dilapidated bathroom that lacks a bathtub and shower constitutes a defective condition that substantially affects habitability. Id.; CACI No. 4350 (Additionally, CACI No. 4350 expressly references defective plumbing facilities and water supplies as constituting conditions that constitute breaches of the warranty of habitability.). Thus, a substantially dilapidated bathroom without a bathtub or shower in the unit is more than an inconvenience—it is a habitability concern that your landlord must remedy.
Repeated complaints and broken promises should not define your experience at home. When habitability defects persist and requests for repairs go unanswered, pursuing a habitability claim may be an important step toward holding those responsible accountable and seeking compensation for the harm you have suffered. Your complaints, photographs, inspection reports, and records of losses can help tell that story, and help you as you litigate your timely filed breach of the implied warranty of habitability claim (not making repairs) in a court of law, including for a home lacking a bathtub and a shower entirely.