The statutory enactment of an implied warrant of habitability may or may not preempt a common law implied warranty of habitability.[1]
Some implied warranty statutes allow rent abatement, authorize the tenant to repair and deduct, authorize the tenant to pay rent to the court or escrow until the landlord makes repairs, provide for the appointment of a receiver, or some combination of these and/or other remedies.
The Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act requires the landlord to “make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition” and lists many specific requirements, such as a landlord duty to maintain “heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, and other facilities and appliances, including elevators, supplied or required to be supplied” by the landlord.[2]
[1] Green v. Superior Court of San Francisco, 10 Cal.3d 616, 517 P.2d 1168 (1975); Pugh v. Holmes 253 Pa.Super. 76, 384 A.2d 1234, 405 A.2d 897 (1978); Aspoon v. Loomis, 62 Wn. App. 818, 816 P.2d 751 (1991).
[2] See Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act at http://www.law.upenn.edu/bll/archives/ulc/fnact99/1970s/urlta72.htm (last accessed 04-20-09).