Habitability Complaint Letter

RENTAL-CONDITION NOTICE AND REPAIR-REQUEST PREPARATION PACKET

Do not send this packet as written. It records conditions, notice history,
access, evidence, and requested repairs. It does not authorize withholding
rent, deducting repair costs, ending a lease, entering restricted areas,
hiring a contractor, or claiming retaliation, damages, fees, or penalties.

1. Safety and Emergency Gate

If there is an immediate danger, gas odor, active fire, severe flooding,
electrical arcing, structural collapse risk, carbon-monoxide alarm, medical
emergency, violence, or another urgent threat, use the appropriate emergency,
utility, building, health, or public-safety channel. Do not wait for completion
or delivery of a letter.

• Immediate condition: [________________________________]
• Emergency contact used: [________________________________]
• Date and time: [________________________________]
• Incident or reference number: [________________________________]
• Temporary relocation or safety instruction: [__________________________]
• Follow-up required: [________________________________]

This packet does not determine which emergency service or agency has
jurisdiction.

2. Property, Lease, and Party Information

Rental Property

• Street address: [________________________________]
• Unit: [________________________________]
• City, state, ZIP: [________________________________]
• County or other locality: [________________________________]
• Property type: [apartment / house / room / manufactured housing / other]
• Subsidized, public, voucher, employer, student, or other program:
  [________________________________]

Tenant or Occupant

• Legal name: [________________________________]
• Other occupants: [________________________________]
• Safe mailing address, if different: [________________________________]
• Telephone: [________________________________]
• Email: [________________________________]
• Communication support or accommodation: [____________________________]

Landlord, Owner, or Manager

• Legal name: [________________________________]
• Property manager: [________________________________]
• Lease notice address: [________________________________]
• Maintenance portal, telephone, or email: [_____________________________]
• Emergency maintenance contact: [________________________________]
• Owner, agent, or program contact identified from: [____________________]

Lease and Program Records

• Lease date and term: [________________________________]
• Repair or maintenance clause: [________________________________]
• Notice clause and permitted methods: [________________________________]
• Access clause: [________________________________]
• House rules or maintenance policy: [________________________________]
• Program inspection or grievance route: [______________________________]

3. Jurisdiction and Authority Register

Complete before adding legal terms to an outgoing letter.

Reviewer: [________________________________]

Review date: [__/__/____]

No blank row authorizes legal language or a tenant remedy.

4. Condition Record

Create one row for each condition.

Do not diagnose mold, toxicity, code violations, structural failure, causation,
or medical injury without a qualified source.

5. Prior Notice and Response Log

• Missed appointments: [________________________________]
• Incomplete or failed repair attempts: [________________________________]
• Vendor or maintenance statements: [________________________________]
• Conditions the landlord disputes: [________________________________]
• Tenant-caused-condition allegation and response: [_____________________]

6. Requested Inspection and Repair

For each condition, state a practical request without presenting a guessed
legal deadline.

A requested date is a communication and scheduling proposal unless the
completed authority register establishes a different legal effect.

7. Access Coordination

• Tenant availability: [________________________________]
• Contact before arrival: [________________________________]
• Preferred entry method: [________________________________]
• Pets, alarms, keys, gates, or building access: [________________________]
• Vulnerability, disability, language, or support need: [_________________]

• Areas the tenant does not authorize without separate agreement:
  [________________________________]

• Emergency access instruction from current authority or lease:
  [________________________________]

This packet does not determine the amount of advance notice or whether entry is
permitted.

8. Evidence and Loss Record

Keep originals and metadata. Share health, disability, identity, access, or
other sensitive information only through an appropriate channel.

9. Agency, Program, and Support Review

Do not copy an agency, court, or remedy from another city or state.

10. Fact-Only Repair Request Draft

[TENANT NAME]

[SAFE ADDRESS]

[EMAIL / TELEPHONE]

[DATE]

Via [LEASE- AND AUTHORITY-APPROVED METHOD]

[LANDLORD / OWNER / MANAGER]

[NOTICE ADDRESS / EMAIL / PORTAL]

Re: Repair request for [PROPERTY AND UNIT]

Dear [NAME]:

I am writing to document the conditions listed below and request inspection,
scheduling, and repair.

Conditions

[INSERT CONCISE FACTUAL DESCRIPTIONS FROM SECTION 4, INCLUDING LOCATIONS,
DATES, PRIOR NOTICE, CURRENT STATUS, AND ATTACHED EVIDENCE. DO NOT INSERT AN
UNVERIFIED DIAGNOSIS OR LEGAL CONCLUSION.]

Prior Notice and Response

[INSERT THE VERIFIED NOTICE HISTORY FROM SECTION 5.]

Requested Work and Contact

Please contact me by [REQUESTED DATE] to coordinate the inspection and work
listed in Section 6. My current access availability is [DATES / TIMES],
subject to the lease and applicable access requirements.

If a scheduled visit or repair cannot occur, please provide the updated plan
and contact information for the responsible person.

Attachments

[LIST PHOTOGRAPHS, COMMUNICATIONS, WORK ORDERS, OR REPORTS ACTUALLY
ATTACHED.]

Sincerely,

[TENANT NAME]

[CONTACT]

This fact-only draft does not state a legal deadline, threaten a rent remedy,
or claim that a condition violates law. Add legal language only from the
completed authority register after review.

11. Separate Legal-Notice and Remedy Gate

Before creating any additional notice, record the exact current basis for:

• rent withholding;
• rent escrow;
• repair and deduction;
• rent abatement;
• lease termination;
• relocation or substitute housing;
• government inspection or enforcement;
• damages or reimbursement;
• retaliation protection;
• attorney fees or penalties;
• court or administrative filing; and
• emergency or ex parte relief.

Selected route: [________________________________]

Current official authority and operative quotation: [__________________]

Required facts and proof: [________________________________]

Deadline and delivery: [________________________________]

Counsel-approved separate document: [________________________________]

12. Final Review

• ☐ Correct property, unit, landlord, owner, manager, and notice address verified.
• ☐ Lease, program, and local jurisdiction identified.
• ☐ Every condition is described factually with dates and locations.
• ☐ Prior notices and responses are accurately logged.

• ☐ Requested dates are labeled as scheduling requests unless current authority
  gives them another effect.

• ☐ Access language matches the lease and current law.

• ☐ No rent withholding, deduction, escrow, termination, retaliation,
  presumption, damages, fees, or penalty claim remains unsupported.

• ☐ Sensitive information and evidence are handled appropriately.

• ☐ Emergency and agency contacts are correct for the property.

• ☐ The outgoing fact-only letter contains no internal instructions or unused
  alternatives.

• ☐ Any legal notice or remedy uses a separate reviewed document.

Reviewer: [________________________________]

Review date: [__/__/____]

Approved outgoing version: [________________________________]

End of preparation packet.