In most rentals, landlords are responsible for light bulbs at move-in and for bulbs in common areas, exterior fixtures, and any fixture a tenant can’t safely reach, while tenants handle routine bulb changes inside their own unit once they take possession. The split turns on three things: what your lease says, where the fixture is, and whether replacing the bulb requires a ladder or specialty parts.
What Your Lease Usually Assigns
Most leases put “routine maintenance” or “minor repairs” on the tenant, and swapping a burned-out bulb in a lamp or a standard ceiling fixture fits neatly inside that language. Some leases say so directly. Others fold it into broader maintenance clauses. Either way, if you can reach the fixture and screw in a standard bulb, plan on that being your job after you have the keys.
Specialty lighting is where leases get vague. Recessed ceiling cans, chandelier-height bulbs, and outdoor security lights that need a ladder or a specific bulb type often sit in a gray zone. A carefully written lease will name who handles them. If yours doesn’t, the default tends to favor the tenant, because the work goes beyond what someone can reasonably do without equipment. Read the lease for language about hard-to-reach fixtures before you sign. Silence on the point usually cuts against the landlord in most jurisdictions.
Inside Your Unit vs. Common Areas
The cleanest line in landlord-tenant lighting rules runs between your private space and shared space. Hallways, stairwells, parking structures, laundry rooms, and exterior walkways belong to the landlord. Local housing codes across the country require landlords to keep those areas adequately lit for safety, and a dark stairwell with a dead bulb can trigger code violations and liability exposure.
Inside your unit, the picture changes once the landlord hands over a working setup. Day-to-day bulb replacement then works like buying dish soap or swapping a furnace filter. The landlord isn’t expected to appear every time a kitchen bulb burns out. The fixtures themselves, though, along with the wiring, sockets, and switches, stay the landlord’s responsibility throughout the tenancy. If a light stops working because the fixture is faulty rather than the bulb, that’s a maintenance request, not a hardware store run.
When Bulbs Become a Habitability Issue
Every state recognizes some version of the implied warranty of habitability, which requires landlords to keep rentals safe and fit to live in regardless of what the lease says. Working electrical, including lighting, falls inside that warranty. A single dead bulb in your bedroom doesn’t reach the threshold. A pattern of failing fixtures, no working light in a bathroom, or a completely dark shared hallway can.
The warranty matters most when the lighting problem traces back to something the landlord controls: outdated wiring, broken fixtures, or a failure to maintain exterior security lights. In those situations, even a lease that assigns “all bulb replacement” to the tenant won’t shield the landlord. The warranty overrides lease terms that try to push habitability duties onto tenants.
Bulbs and Your Security Deposit
Bulbs are one of the most common small deductions landlords try on a security deposit, and the charge almost never holds up. Burned-out bulbs are normal wear and tear. A bulb has a finite life, and running it until it dies is exactly what it’s for. A landlord cannot deduct for bulbs that burned out through ordinary use during your tenancy.
The exception is missing bulbs. If you unscrewed working bulbs and took them with you, that counts as missing property, and the landlord can charge a reasonable replacement cost. The same applies to specialty bulbs you broke or removed. The charge is limited to the same type of bulb that was there before, not an upgrade.
This is why move-in and move-out documentation carries weight. HUD’s own inspection form includes a line item for fixtures, bulbs, switches, and timers.1HUD. Appendix 5: Move-In/Move-Out Inspection Form When you move in, note which lights work and which don’t. Take photos. Do the same at move-out. That record is your best defense against a landlord who tries to charge $75 for “bulb replacement” on your deposit statement.
When the Landlord Won’t Fix a Lighting Problem
If the lighting issue sits on the landlord’s side of the line and they’re ignoring it, start with a written request. Email works. Describe the problem, say where it is, and ask for a specific repair deadline. Keep a copy. If the problem creates a safety issue, like a pitch-dark parking lot or a broken exterior fixture, take photos with timestamps.
If the landlord doesn’t respond, roughly half of U.S. states allow a “repair and deduct” remedy. You pay someone to fix it and subtract the cost from your next rent. Every state that permits this has procedural requirements you have to follow precisely. Most require written notice and a waiting period, commonly 14 to 30 days, before you can act. Many also cap the deduction, often at one month’s rent per incident. Skipping a step can leave you owing the full rent, so check your state’s rules before withholding anything.
You can also file a complaint with your local housing code enforcement office. Lighting violations in common areas, broken exterior security fixtures, and units delivered without working electrical are enforceable code issues in most jurisdictions. An inspector’s visit often moves repairs along faster than another email.
Persistent lighting failures that make the unit unsafe can also support a rent reduction or, in severe cases, lease termination. Because the warranty of habitability applies regardless of what the lease says, a landlord can’t point to a maintenance clause and walk away from electrical problems that affect whether the unit is livable.