# Can the government help me if my landlord keeps breaking our settlement agreement?

- Jurisdiction: United States
- Practice area: Tenancy Law
- Published: 2026-11-01
- Last updated: 2026-11-01
- Canonical: https://lawasked.com/us/tenancy-law/can-government-help-me-if-my-landlord-keeps

## Question

I live in a small apartment complex in Ohio, and back in January of this year, I had a huge issue with my landlord refusing to fix a broken heater during a freeze. I eventually worked with a housing agency to reach a formal settlement agreement, which was signed and finalized on March 15th. The landlord promised in that written agreement to replace the unit and fix the ventilation by April 30th. However, it is now late June, and they still haven't done anything despite my constant emails and three phone calls. I even sent a formal letter through the post office last month, but they are just ignoring me. Since the agency I worked with originally is having trouble making them comply with the deal we already made, I am wondering if the Department of Justice can step in and actually sue them to make them follow the rules. I want to know if the government can take them to court to force the repairs and if I can potentially get my legal costs or some money back for the stress and the extra heating bills I had to pay out of my own paycheck. Can the Attorney General get involved in this?

## Summary

It depends on whether your landlord's failure to follow the agreement is part of a larger pattern of discrimination. The Attorney General can only step in to enforce a conciliation agreement if the Secretary refers the matter to them after finding a breach.

## Analysis

Whether the Attorney General can help you depends on how your original settlement was reached. If your settlement was a 'conciliation agreement'—which is a formal agreement reached to resolve a housing dispute—the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development has the power to act. Specifically, if the Secretary has "reasonable cause to believe that a respondent has breached a conciliation agreement," they shall "refer the matter to the Attorney General with a recommendation that a civil action be filed" [1]. This means the government does not automatically step in; the Secretary must first investigate and then recommend that the Attorney General sue your landlord [1].

If the Attorney General does file a lawsuit, the court can provide several types of relief. The court "may award such preventive relief, including a permanent or temporary injunction... as is necessary to assure the full enjoyment of the rights" [2]. An injunction is a court order that forces someone to do something, like fixing your heater. Additionally, the court "may award such other relief as the court deems appropriate, including monetary damages to persons aggrieved" [2]. This could potentially cover your extra heating bills and other costs. If you win, the court may also allow you to recover a "reasonable attorney’s fee and costs" [2].

However, the Attorney General's involvement is often reserved for cases of "general public importance" or patterns of discrimination [2]. If your issue is a private contract dispute that does not involve discrimination under the Fair Housing Act, the federal government may not intervene. In that case, you might have to sue the landlord yourself in state or federal court [3].

## Statutory citations

- Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3610 - Administrative enforcement; preliminary matters [in force] (https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title42-section3610)
  > Whenever the Secretary has reasonable cause to believe that a respondent has breached a conciliation agreement, the Secretary shall refer the matter to the Attorney General with a recommendation that a civil action be filed under section 3614 of this title for the enforcement of such agreement.
- Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3614 - Enforcement by Attorney General [in force] (https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title42-section3614)
  > the court— (A) may award such preventive relief, including a permanent or temporary injunction... (B) may award such other relief as the court deems appropriate, including monetary damages to persons aggrieved
- Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3613 - Enforcement by private persons [in force] (https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title42-section3613)
  > An aggrieved person may commence a civil action in an appropriate United States district court or State court not later than 2 years after the occurrence or the termination of an alleged discriminatory housing practice, or the breach of a conciliation agreement... whichever occurs last

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