1. Live with the problem.
   
2. Fix it, at your own expense, with the landlord's permission.
   
3. Move out at the end of the lease term after giving proper notice.

1. Take pictures of the needed repairs and write on the back of the pictures the date they were taken and what they show, such as "broken porch railing." Have witnesses look at the needed repairs and make notes about what they see and when they saw it.
   
2. Send a letter to your landlord notifying him/her of the needed repairs. Keep a copy of the letter for your records.Take the letter to the Post Office and mail it by certified mail, return receipt requested. The Post Office will give you a white receipt when you mail the letter, and a green receipt after the letter is delivered. Keep both receipts for your records. If you are facing an emergency, such as no heat in the winter, and you need the problem fixed immediately, you may want to do Step 3 before Step 2. (If you live in Public Housing, you have the right to request a Grievance Hearing.)
   
3. If the premises are unfit, you may notify the Allegheny County Health Department at (412) 350-4046, and request that it inspect the premises and issue the landlord a citation demanding that the premises comply with building codes.
   
4. If the premises are unfit and your landlord has ignored the above steps, you may select one or more of the these options:
   
   1. You may move out and stop paying rent.
      
   2. After giving advance notice to the landlord, you may make reasonable, necessary repairs at your own expense and deduct the cost from the rent. The cost must be reasonable and cannot exceed the amount of rent owed for the balance of the lease term. For example, if you have 4 months remaining on a one year lease, and your rent is $400 per month, you cannot deduct more than $1600 for repairs. Here's another example: if you have a month to month lease and your rent is $400 per month, you cannot deduct more than a total of $400 from your rent for repairs. If you plan to hire a repairman to make the repairs, you should get two written estimates from qualified repairmen, who are not your relatives or friends. Select the most reasonable estimate. Show a copy of the estimate to your landlord and invite the landlord to arrange for the repairs himself/herself. If you landlord still refuses to make the repairs, and you are forced to pay for the repairs yourself, get a signed receipt. Then send your landlord a copy of the receipt along with a letter explaining that you have deducted the cost of the repairs from the rent.
      
   3. You may withhold all of the rent if the entire premises are unfit for human habitation, or you may withhold part of the rent if part of the premises are unfit for human habitation. If your landlord sues you, a District justice or a judge will decide if you withheld too much. So, if you withhold any rent, put it into a savings account so you will have the money just in case you need to pay part or all of it to the landlord to stop the eviction.
      
   4. If the Health Department decides that the premises are unfit, the Health Department may allow you to pay your rent into the Health Department's escrow account for up to 6 months until the landlord makes the required repairs. As long as you are paying your rent into the Health Department's escrow account, your landlord cannot evict you. The bad part about this option is this: if the landlord makes the required repairs before the end of 6 months, the Health Department must turn over all the money to the landlord, even if you have been living in horrible conditions for months.
      
   5. You may sue the landlord to recover all or part of the rent paid in the past while the premises were entirely or partly unfit for human habitation.

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