What would you do?

Location: Madera County

Looking for some guidance on my situation as tenant in California.

My family moved into a rental house about 6-8 months ago. Since moving in, we’ve dealt with a long list of issues including water damage, mold remediation, plumbing problems affecting multiple toilets, pest issues (including catching approximately 10 mice), HVAC concerns, and various other maintenance problems.

The biggest issue has been the mold remediation and reconstruction. For roughly the last 3+ months, major portions of the house were either unusable or under construction. At different times we lost normal use of the kitchen, dining room, and family room. For the last several weeks, contractors were in the house almost daily, often for most of the day, with construction materials, equipment, noise, dust, and limited access to parts of the property.

During this same period, we continued paying the majority of the rent. The landlord did agree to some rent reduction while the work was ongoing, but now that the repairs are mostly complete, she’s asking for the remaining balance.

From the landlord’s perspective, the house is repaired. From our perspective, we’ve spent months living in what felt more like a construction site than a home, while dealing with mice, mold-related repairs, repeated maintenance issues, and loss of normal use of significant portions of the property.

I’m not looking for revenge or a windfall. I’m genuinely trying to understand what is considered reasonable under California law when tenants lose use and enjoyment of large portions of a rental property for months while still paying most of the rent.

What can I do? I'm honestly pursing a lawsuit at this point, but want some grounded advice on what my options are.