By RONDA KAYSEN

Water Shortage

I am a market-rate tenant in a new luxury high-rise rental building. The building’s water has gone out about six times in the last month “due to frigid conditions.” Each time, the water is out for five to eight hours. Do I have any recourse to force the building to either deal with this or issue a rent abatement?

Financial District, Manhattan

Apartments are supposed to come with running water, regardless of the outside temperature. (They are supposed to also deliver hot water 12 months a year.) It is baffling that yours does not — a new luxury high-rise certainly should have a functioning plumbing system in place.

Contact management and see if you can get a clearer picture of the problem. Demand that the managers explain to you what the problem is and what steps they are taking to address it. They should also provide you with an estimate of how long any repairs might take. I would imagine that you are not the only tenant to wonder where the water went. And I am surprised that management has not circulated a memo to tenants explaining the situation.

You could also consider withholding rent on the basis that a lack of water violates your warranty of habitability, but there are serious risks to that approach. As soon as you withhold rent, the landlord will begin legal proceedings against you. Depending on the nature of the problem, management could argue that it worked as quickly as possible to resolve a complicated situation — and a judge might agree. “The law will afford the landlord some latitude,” said Lucas A. Ferrara, a landlord-tenant lawyer.

If you were to lose in court, you would be on the hook for unpaid rent and possibly your landlord’s legal fees. You would also risk landing your name on the tenant black list, making it difficult for you to find another apartment in the future. “The tenant could really get zonked if they make the wrong move,” Mr. Ferrara said.

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