Synopsis
This Amendment removes the provisions for court-managed escrow while clarifying procedures regarding tenants’ ability to withhold paying rent, with notice to the landlord, when there are significant health and safety issues involving the rental property. It also clarifies procedures for rent abatement actions in such cases. Since there is no escrow program for the Justice of the Peace Court to implement, this Amendment changes the effective date of the Act to 60 days after enactment. This Amendment differs from Senate Amendment No. 3 in that it clarifies language regarding tenant actions in § 5307 including making it clear that a tenant may not withhold rent or receive abatement if a condition was caused by the tenant, a member of the tenant’s household, or a guest of the tenant, and allows a landlord to raise impossibility of performance as a defense.