Can a tenant withhold rent for repairs in Delaware?
In Delaware, if the landlord substantially fails to provide hot water, heat, water or electricity, or fails to remedy a condition that materially deprives the tenant of a substantial part of the bargain, for 48 hours or more after the tenant’s actual or written notice, the tenant may, on written notice, keep two-thirds of the daily rent for the period those services or equivalent substitute housing are not supplied. The landlord may avoid this liability by showing impossibility of performance. Withholding does not bar the tenant from later recovering damages that exceed the amount withheld. If the court finds in a summary possession action that the tenant wrongfully withheld rent, the landlord is entitled to possession or to the amount wrongfully withheld, or double that amount if the tenant acted in bad faith, payable within 10 days of the judgment. Repair-and-deduct is a different remedy with its own rules. This is 25 Del. C. § 5308.
| What | Delaware |
|---|---|
| Rent withholding | Keep 2/3 of daily rent after 48 hours without heat or water |
| How it works | The tenant may withhold rent after the required notice |
What the statute says
“Upon written notice to the landlord, keep 2/3 per diem rent accruing during any period when hot water, heat, water, electricity or equivalent substitute housing is not supplied.”
Quoted word for word from the section’s text.
Source
Read the statute in the Delaware Code (Delaware General Assembly): delcode.delaware.gov.
Checked against the statute on November 15, 2026.
This is a summary of a published statute, not legal advice. Rules change, local ordinances can add to them, and the terms of a specific lease may differ. Check the citation and speak to a lawyer before acting.
How Seayora uses this rule
Every deadline on this page runs from the tenant’s notice. A repair request filed in Seayora keeps the date it was made and every update after it, on the website and both phone apps, so owner and tenant are working from the same date.
Guides on this rule
- Rent Withholding Laws by State: When Tenants Can Withhold Rent — When a tenant may withhold rent or pay it into escrow over repairs, with the notice and conditions in each of the 19 states with a statute.
Compare this rule in every state
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The same question in other states
- California
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York