What can a tenant claim if a landlord fails to provide essential services, allowing them to terminate the lease?

When a tenant claims constructive eviction, it signifies that the landlord has failed to uphold their duty to provide essential services that are necessary for the tenant's use and enjoyment of the rented property. Essential services typically include heating, water, electricity, and other basic utilities necessary for living conditions. If these services are not provided, and the tenant is essentially forced to leave the premises due to the landlord's neglect, the tenant can argue that they have been constructively evicted.

In this scenario, the tenant has the right to terminate the lease because the persistent deficiencies in essential services create an uninhabitable living environment. This legal concept protects tenants by allowing them to escape obligations under the lease when the landlord's failure to provide fundamental services materially impacts their ability to live comfortably and safely in the unit.

Other terms like legal eviction, retaliatory eviction, and immediate eviction do not accurately address the situation where a landlord's inaction leads a tenant to terminate their lease. Legal eviction typically refers to the formal legal process initiated by a landlord to remove a tenant. Retaliatory eviction is a defense that tenants can use when they believe they are being evicted in response to their exercise of legal rights, such as reporting code violations. Immediate eviction implies an abrupt removal process