Dear PoPville – Should My Landlord Pay For Hotel or offer other Compensation During Renovations?

Photo by PoPville flickr user Mr. T in DC

“Dear PoPville:

Due to an ongoing rodent problem in my apartment (in a converted rowhouse in Logan), my landlord is proposing to completely redo our kitchen. This will supposedly seal all the cracks and holes where the mice and rats are getting into the house, and give me a new kitchen to boot. The landlord is also repairing or replacing the roof, which leaks and has caused water damage in the walls. All told, he estimates that there will be about two weeks of work outside and two to three weeks of work inside the house.

The landlord is currently asking for our thoughts on moving forward with the project, including scheduling. Obviously I want to deal with the rodent problem, and a full reno of the kitchen seems like the best way to accomplish this. However, I’m not looking forward to losing my kitchen for several weeks, nor the possibility of having to move out of the apartment. My question to the commentariat is: what should I ask the landlord for in compensation, if anything? I think that if we have to move into a hotel room for any period of time, he should cover that cost. Should we also ask for a rent abatement for the time that the kitchen is unusable? If our rent is close to $2000 a month, how much should we ask for?

Thanks!”