Check out the landlord tenant act (33.340) & the residential landlord tenant act (33.1301). Section 33-1361 is your new best friend.
Send L written notice (certified, return receipt) of the repairs necessary to bring the apt up to the minimal requirements (fix the furnace, fix the water heater, fix the AC, etc.). List every repair that falls under 33-1324 that you can think of. You'll have to give 5 day notice on some repairs and 10 day notice on other repairs. You have to give L access to make repairs during business hours. If L misses ONE deadline, you get to terminate the lease AND L has to return your security deposit to boot! (A bit like spanking a baby with an ax, but you want to terminate the lease anyway, so the "ultimate remedy" is fine for you.) If you can find alternate housing for the month until you close, give notice now. Otherwise wait until you're ready to move.
If the wretched landlord actually meets all repair deadlines, you'll have to buy your way out of the lease. HOWEVER, Once you give notice, L has a duty to re-rent the apt ASAP. This usually means within 30 days. L is forbidden to collect rent from the new tenant AND charge you for the same months.
Your alternative is to move out, stop paying rent, and wait for L to sue you. Then counterclaim for diminution in rental value due to the lack of heat/hot water/etc.
Good luck!
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33-341. Termination of tenancies
A. A tenancy from year to year terminates at the end of each year unless written permission is given to remain for a longer period. The permission shall specify the time the tenant may remain, and upon termination of such time the tenancy expires.
B. A lease from month to month may be terminated by the landlord giving at least ten days notice thereof. In case of nonpayment of rent notice is not required.
C. A tenant from month to month shall give ten days notice, and a tenant on a semimonthly basis shall give five days notice, of his intention to terminate possession of the premises. Failure to give the notice renders the tenant liable for the rent for the ensuing ten days.
D. When a tenancy is for a certain period under verbal or written agreement, and the time expires, the tenant shall surrender possession. Notice to quit or demand of possession is not then necessary.
E. A tenant who holds possession of property against the will of the landlord, except as provided in this section, shall not be considered a tenant at sufferance or at will.
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33-343. Premises rendered untenantable without fault of lessee; nonliability of tenant for rent; right to quit premises
The lessee of a building which, without fault or neglect on the part of the lessee, is destroyed or so injured by the elements or any other cause as to be untenantable or unfit for occupancy, is not liable thereafter to pay rent to the lessor or owner unless expressly provided by written agreement, and the lessee may thereupon quit and surrender possession of the premises.
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33-1324. Landlord to maintain fit premises
A. The landlord shall:
1. Comply with the requirements of applicable building codes materially affecting health and safety.
2. Make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition.
3. Keep all common areas of the premises in a clean and safe condition.
4. Maintain in good and safe working order and condition all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning and other facilities and appliances, including elevators, supplied or required to be supplied by him.
5. Provide and maintain appropriate receptacles and conveniences for the removal of ashes, garbage, rubbish and other waste incidental to the occupancy of the dwelling unit and arrange for their removal.
6. Supply running water and reasonable amounts of hot water at all times, reasonable heat and reasonable air-conditioning or cooling where such units are installed and offered, when required by seasonal weather conditions, except where the building that includes the dwelling unit is not required by law to be equipped for that purpose or the dwelling unit is so constructed that heat, air-conditioning, cooling or hot water is generated by an installation within the exclusive control of the tenant and supplied by a direct public utility connection.
B. If the duty imposed by subsection A, paragraph 1 of this section is greater than any duty imposed by any other paragraph of this section, the landlord's duty shall be determined by reference to that paragraph.
C. The landlord and tenant of a single family residence may agree in writing, supported by adequate consideration, that the tenant perform the landlord's duties specified in subsection A, paragraphs 5 and 6 of this section, and also specified repairs, maintenance tasks, alterations and remodeling, but only if the transaction is entered into in good faith, not for the purpose of evading the obligations of the landlord and the work is not necessary to cure noncompliance with subsection A, paragraphs 1 and 2 of this section.
D. The landlord and tenant of any dwelling unit other than a single family residence may agree that the tenant is to perform specified repairs, maintenance tasks, alterations or remodeling only if:
1. The agreement of the parties is entered into in good faith and not for the purpose of evading the obligations of the landlord and is set forth in a separate writing signed by the parties and supported by adequate consideration.
2. The work is not necessary to cure noncompliance with subsection A, paragraphs 1 and 2 of this section.
3. The agreement does not diminish or affect the obligation of the landlord to other tenants in the premises.
E. If the landlord purchases utility services from a public service corporation for distribution through a system owned or operated by the landlord and imposes separately stated utility or similar charges on the tenants, the aggregate amount of the separately stated charges shall not exceed the actual cost paid by the landlord to the public service corporation for the utility services. The tenant is not required to pay any other separately stated charges for provision of the utility services. This shall not prohibit a mobile home park landlord from charging residents of dwellings rented from the landlord within the mobile home park for utilities in accordance with section 33-1413.01.
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33-1365. Landlord's noncompliance as defense to action for possession or rent; definition
A. In an action for possession based upon nonpayment of the rent or in an action for rent where the tenant is in possession, if the landlord is not in compliance with the rental agreement or this chapter, the tenant may counterclaim for any amount which he may recover under the rental agreement or this chapter. In that event after notice and hearing the court from time to time may order the tenant to pay into court all or part of the undisputed rent accrued and all periodic rent thereafter accruing and shall determine the amount due to each party. The party to whom a net amount is owed shall be paid first from the money paid into court and the balance, if any, by the other party. However, if no rent remains due after application of this section, or if the tenant is adjudged to have acted in good faith and satisfies a judgment for rent entered for the landlord, judgment shall be entered for the tenant in the action for possession.
B. In an action for rent where the tenant is not in possession, the tenant may counterclaim as provided in subsection A but the tenant is not required to pay any rent into court.
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33-1361. Noncompliance by the landlord
A. Except as provided in this chapter, if there is a material noncompliance by the landlord with the rental agreement, including a material falsification of the written information provided to the tenant, the tenant may deliver a written not
