We only have one toilet and it doesn’t flush. I notified him 5hr ago via email (he works at IBM; I know he checks it) and he hasn’t responded. Also left voicemail.
If he doesn’t reply by tomorrow AM I’d like to call a plumber and deduct cost from rent. Can I do this? It seems ridiculous that we should have to keep going to the coffee shop to use the bathroom.
The statute says in a “reasonable” amount of time, which is completely unhelpful.
I would give him at least 24 hrs … also take into consideration that he “could” be in another country - and not receive your mails, etc…
but after 24 hrs i would def. take action … however you trying to find a plumber with a decent rate would help your case (in a worst case scenario).
as a general rule - do what you would do if you had to pay for it
ahhh … and you could stop eat’n 
thanks!
Is it clogged or is the flushing handle not working? If it’s the handle/chain flapper mechanism no operating you can simply remove the water tank lid and operate the float by hand (making it flush) until the mechanism is replaced.
Okay okay, by “doesn’t flush” I meant “doesn’t flush with the handel.”
I can open the tank and lift the flap manually and it flushes. That, however, is icky.
Is sticking your arm in water halfway to your elbow and touching something slimy “reasonable”?
I’m in law school and this “reasonable” business haunted me in torts. No one IS the reasonable person. Everyone just KNOWS what a reasonable person would do. Ugh.
Regardless, landlord called, was in fact out of town, is coming first thing tomorrow AM (for those who were worried about my wet arm and state of mental ickiness.)
If you can do that you might be able to wire it up with something so you can flush it with the handle for now. Our chain broke and I fixed it with a couple of trash-bag twisty-ties. Those lasted for weeks. Or, use a pair of tongs or something.
As long as your hand is in there anyway, can you reconnect the chain, or is it actually broken?
Also, if it’s broken you may be able to buy a kit at the hardware store and fix it yourself.
My roommate fiddled with it a while. Not sure what he was doing, but it involved looking for a safety-pin (which he called a “clothes-pin”. It took us a while to figure out what the other was talking about. Further proof that book people are stupid.)
He failed. The cost/benefit analysis came out against me giving it a go myself.
A paper clip will usually suffice to temporarily reconnect the chain to the flapper. I felt kind of sorry for you at first, but given that the toilet is still fully (though not conveniently) operational and you can make it work until a repair is effected, this helpless high drama mode about the landlord not calling you back and prospects of deducting rent to call a plumber for what is effectively a 1-10 minute repair (and maybe 5-10 dollars for a flapper+chain kit) for anyone with some common sense, it seems a little silly to incur a probable $ 60 - $100 plumber bill to get this simple reconnection issue fixed.
Thank you for the temporary sympathies.
It goes back to the definition of “flush”. While of course it’s exponentially worse to have a completely non-functioning toilet, if I’m paying full rent I want a full/functioning house.
It’s not a matter of life or death, but it sucks, and it should be taken care of asap. I know that if I didn’t push the issue, it might take longer to get done. That’s why I posted the question- to see exactly what I could legally ask for.
Pull the disconnected end of the chain out of the tank. Put a paper clip on it. If it is disconnected from the handle, attach the paper clip to the long piece with a hole in it sticking out from the handle. If it is disconnected from the flapper, attach it to the little eye on the top of the flapper. (Hold the flapper up till the water drains, then wedge the handle in down position, and you won’t have to deal with water.) That should get you through.
Seriously, this is a useful skill. This won’t be the last time a toilet breaks on you, I promise. 
The water in the tank is perfectly clean… it’s the same water you drink. Unless poop can defy gravity, I wouldn’t worry about the “ickyness” of the water in the top tank.
Since you can flush it manually by opening the valve by hand, there’s a good chance you can easily rig something up like twist ties, a zip strip, or a string to the handle to flush until the plumber comes.
I was able to rig my toilet as a sixteen year old “girly” girl with a paperclip.
You can handle it no problem.
Much “ickier” to leave the toilet not flushing.