They include:
- The landlord must substantially interfere with a tenant's ability to use a rental property to the point where it's no longer habitable. This interference can include actions, e.g., removing access to a previously available amenity, or inactions, e.g., not fixing a known issue with the property.
- The landlord fails to respond to or resolve an issue reported by the tenant.
- The tenant leaves the property within a reasonable amount of time after the landlord failed to resolve the reported issue.
Tenants have the right to quiet enjoyment of their homes. Because of that, the landlord can't do things that interfere with a tenant's reasonable use of a property. Similarly, they must act to resolve an issue impacting a tenant's living situation within a reasonable amount of time.
Here's an example of a constructive eviction: A tenant reports to the landlord that they have no hot water. The landlord responds that they'll take care of it. A day goes by, and the landlord hasn't gotten the hot water fixed, so the tenant checks in with the landlord to see when they will get it fixed, but the tenant doesn't get a response. The tenant continues following up for several more days without an answer. Because the property is uninhabitable without hot water, the tenant moves out. They wouldn't have to pay any more rent or fees to break their lease and could seek damages from the landlord.
