Sometimes, you get lucky. You find a place to rent in the right part of town that has all of the amenities you’re looking for. Things go along just fine for a while. Everything works, you don’t have any accidents that might require a renters insurance claim and your relationship with your landlord is stellar.

Then, without warning, a roach shows up. One turns into 10,000. Or maybe your boiler explodes, leaving you without heat for days. Maybe you get robbed because your landlord refuses to fix a broken lock.

You realize it then: your landlord sucks. Majorly.

So, what do you do? Well, here are a few things you can try:

Know your lease. You want to start out being aware of what is your responsibility and what’s your landlords. Your lease should spell out certain things. For example, your landlord has to make sure that the place you’re renting remains habitable. Depending on what state you live in, your particular problem may or may not fall into this category.

Check with the neighbors. There is power in numbers. Talk with your neighbors to see if the problem is affecting them. If an entire group of renters are having the same trouble, it will be easier to apply some real pressure to your landlord.

Write a letter. If you’ve talked to your landlord without a result, put it in writing. Tell him what’s wrong, and tell him what you expect. Give him a reasonable amount of time (say, two to four weeks in the case of a roach problem) to fix it. Let him know that you’re going to take further steps if it’s not fixed. Make sure you keep a copy of that letter, too.

Pick up the phone. Call your state’s Attorney General’s office. Ask them to put you through to the department that handles landlord-tenant relations. Let them know what’s going on, and ask if they have any advice or information they can help you with. They may be able to let you know what legal obligations landlords have and what your possible remedies are.

Fix it yourself. You can give all the deadlines you want, but some landlords won’t budge. If that’s the case, in many states, you can pay to have the problem fixed yourself and then deduct that cost from your rent payments. You’ll be surprised how quickly a landlord will respond when they think they might not get their rent money.

Photo via Klearchos Kapoutsis