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 the a partially working, dilapidated refrigerator that the landlord has not repaired or replaced for years.  Despite your prudence, the landlord has not made repairs to the dilapidated refrigerator, and your home remains uninhabitable through no fault of your own.  The dilapidated refrigerator has been in this intolerable 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 and unsanitary refrigerator that poses a life and safety threat to you and your family members.  You cannot store food, and if you could, you probably would likely suffer severe foodborne illness due to the dilapidated refrigerator.  You begin to wonder; Does my landlord have to repair or replace a dilapidated refrigerator?

Yes, your landlord has to repair or replace a dilapidated refrigerator.  Green v. Superior Court, (1974) 10 Cal. 3d 616, 621, 627 (A dangerous refrigerator constitutes a breach of the warranty of habitability); California Civil Code § 1941.1(a)(11); California Health & Safety Code § 17920.3(a)(14), (c), (f).  Provided it is not de minimis (minor or not severe), a dilapidated refrigerator with nonworking burners, electrical issues, and other hazardous issues constitutes a defective condition that substantially affects habitability.  Id.  Thus, a substantially dilapidated refrigerator is more than an inconvenience—it is a habitability concern that your landlord must remedy.

It is important to note here that your landlord cannot charge you to repair or replace the dilapidated refrigerator, except instances where you or your guest intentionally caused the damage.

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 dilapidated refrigerator.