Second Letter

Getting the issue fixed by a professional

Be Careful!

There are specific steps you must follow before doing this and certain renters cannot use this option. If you live in subsidized housing, you CANNOT use this option to get an issue fixed. Subsidized housing includes:

Section 8 Vouchers (a.k.a. Housing Choice Voucher) or similar vouchers that help pay rent
Public housing
Low-Income Housing
Units built with Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC)
Units built with Affordable Housing Tax Credits
Units built, bought, or rehabilitated through the HOME Investment Partnerships Program
Units built, bought, or rehabilitated through other government programs

If you are not 100% sure if you live in subsidized housing, we strongly recommended you talk with a lawyer. If you have questions about how this applies to your situation or if you need additional help, please contact the Colorado Poverty Law Project.

If your landlord does not respond to your first letter on time, you may want to take matters into your own hands. You can get the issue fixed by a professional without your landlord’s involvement and deduct the cost of fixing the issue from your normal rent. There is a specific timeline you must follow to get the issue fixed without the landlord.

What do I have to do before getting the issue fixed on my own?

Make sure you have already told your landlord about the issue in writing. If you haven't sent a first letter to your landlord, you can use our free tool to send your first letter.

How do I know if my landlord is not responding correctly?

Once your landlord receives your first letter about a rental issue, they are required to:

1. Respond within 24 hours with:

A plan for resolving the issue
An estimate of when the work will start
An estimate of when the work will be finished

2. Start fixing the issue within 96 hours (or 24 hours if it’s an emergency issue)

3. Finish fixing the issue quickly and without unnecessary delay.

What should this second letter include?

If your landlord is not responding on time, you need to send a second letter to your landlord, giving them one last opportunity to fix the issue themselves. Before you can get the issue fixed without the landlord, you must tell your landlord your plan by sending them a letter with an attached cost estimate by a professional. This second letter should include:

The date that you will send the letter
The date that you sent the first letter, telling your landlord about the issue
Your name
Your address and unit number
Landlord or property manager’s name
Landlord’s address
Detailed description of the issue
Say that you want to deduct the cost of fixing the issue from your next rent payment
Copy of an estimate for fixing the issue by a professional (you can not be related to the professional)
Your signature
Date of signature

How to Send a Letter

Landlords can require in the lease that renters communicate with them in a specific way. They may ask renters to use a website, online “portal”, email, or text message.

Check the lease. If a lease says renters must communicate in a specific way, you should use that method.
If the landlord does not specify in the lease, you should communicate the way you have in the past.
If you have not communicated with your landlord in the past, you can send your letter

In an e-mail
With certified mail or USPS first class
Hand-deliver the letter to the landlord or property manager’s business office

Create a Letter

What's next?

Once your landlord receives this second letter from you, they can let you hire a professional and deduct the cost from your rental payment. If your landlord does not want to let you get the issue fixed and deduct rent, they are required to:

Get their own estimate from a professional within 4 business days
Send you a copy of their own professional estimate
Tell you that they want to hire their own professional to fix the issue
Start fixing the issue as soon as possible

If your landlord does not get their own estimate or start fixing the issue, after 10 days you can:

Get the issue fixed by your choice of professional (you cannot be related to the professional)
Replace a broken appliance with an equivalent one instead of having it fixed
Deduct the cost of fixing the issue from your rental payments until it is paid off

Use our Next Step Guide to help figure out if your landlord is on track and what your next step is.

Find My Next Step Learn More