I need some help, I think.

[Howell123]

Pennsylvania - Pittsburgh

I've been living in my current residence for a bit under a year. On my lease, it says we are to have heat that is paid for by the building management. Over the course of the last month and I half, my lady friend and I have made numerous calls to have them come fix this. They have yet to do so, and with the weather becoming colder, it's a bit if a problem. (I've been sick for 2 weeks because of this!) How do I go about withholding my rent from them? Is it possible to file a suit for damages caused and retrieve my rent from last month (The heat was off then, too.. and every other unit has heat but mine!) I'm fairly positive they are trying to avoid me because they think I'm young and stupid. Many tenants here have hinted that the turnover rate is very high because of this. I don't want to be another number.


So I need to know what I can do about this, and whether or not you think this will effect me in the future, should I decide to stay here for another year.

Thanks for your help, guys.

 

[FarmerJ]

Call your city /county building inspections dept and tell them about the lack of heat and ask if they can send someone out to check it out, Another thing you want to learn is when heat is included but a tenant does not have a thermostat in the unit they rent what the lowest temperature is that the LL can have the heat set to. Like in my state heat inc means LLs heating system must maintain 68 during our defined heating season.

 

[swrdmbo]

I agree you should definitely have heat in your apartment.I just want you to know that you do not "become sick" from lack of heat.

I would leave this out of your complaint .You also will not get any financial gain from "being sick" due to the lack of heat.

 

[Howell123]

double post, sorry.

 

[Howell123]

I agree you should definitely have heat in your apartment.I just want you to know that you do not "become sick" from lack of heat.

I would leave this out of your complaint .You also will not get any financial gain from "being sick" due to the lack of heat.

I'm not necessarily "sick". Just can't seem to kick this cold, and I don't think being freezing is helping too much.

However, my fiancee has poor blood circulation (PVD), though, so her body aches when it's cold. It's kinda rough being in a 50 degree house, but we can manage.

Each unit has it's own adjustable thermostat. We're all to be able to control the heat in each unit seperately.


What about rent from last month? We have it documented when we first called them about the issue. They then placed a notice on our door saying somebody was in there to fix it, but .. they didn't fix it. Am I able to do anything regarding to past payments? If not, it's not a big problem.


Thanks for the advice to all of you guys. You're very helpful, and I appreciate it.

 

[Searchertwin]

I'm not necessarily "sick". Just can't seem to kick this cold, and I don't think being freezing is helping too much.

However, my fiancee has poor blood circulation (PVD), though, so her body aches when it's cold. It's kinda rough being in a 50 degree house, but we can manage.

Each unit has it's own adjustable thermostat. We're all to be able to control the heat in each unit seperately.


What about rent from last month? We have it documented when we first called them about the issue. They then placed a notice on our door saying somebody was in there to fix it, but .. they didn't fix it. Am I able to do anything regarding to past payments? If not, it's not a big problem.


Thanks for the advice to all of you guys. You're very helpful, and I appreciate it.

I would send a reg letter to LL indicating that heat does not work, no one came to repair and you would like for it to be remedy. Leave out all the drama, it is immaterial. Wait a couple of days for response, than if none, send another one to LL indicating that you will contact city/county inspections as FarmerJ stated, if you receive no response with a couple of days. This will probably work.

 

[Howell123]

I would send a reg letter to LL indicating that heat does not work, no one came to repair and you would like for it to be remedy. Leave out all the drama, it is immaterial. Wait a couple of days for response, than if none, send another one to LL indicating that you will contact city/county inspections as FarmerJ stated, if you receive no response with a couple of days. This will probably work.

I've been complaining about the heat not working for the last 38 days. Yes, I have it documented. I'm not really into giving them the option of remedying the problem without issue. The old apartment management sold to these guys 2 months ago. They're notorious slum lords. Somebody needs to stand up to them.

 

[ecmst12]

You need to contact the housing inspector. In the meantime, I suggest a $15 space heater, to keep you from being too uncomfortable while waiting for the repairs.

 

[FarmerJ]

Howell By chance is this hot water heat (long baseboard radiators) its entirely possible there is air in the lines, did you ever see evidence of one of the end caps being opened so the bleed valve was accessed? ) last thing ,does your thermostat show a lower and upper temp and if so does it also say conservation on it? Im asking these things in order to assist you to learn more about your units heating system. So any way once you learn what the heating minimum is when heat is included for your state then as I said move on to the next step of your complaint. BTW have you used another means of reading the temperature in the apt so you can see what it actually is showing? This would be a useful thing to do before calling inspections so your able to show them , for example living room shows 66 and thermostat is set for 70 , bedroom shows 65 , etc .

 

[Andy0192]

What about rent from last month? We have it documented when we first called them about the issue. They then placed a notice on our door saying somebody was in there to fix it, but .. they didn't fix it. Am I able to do anything regarding to past payments? If not, it's not a big problem.


Thanks for the advice to all of you guys. You're very helpful, and I appreciate it.

Google PA Landlord Tenant act. You MUST notify the Landlord in writing. Documenting a phone call does not do anything for you in court.

You won't be able to do much about past payments. Pennsylvania has a process where you can notify the Landlord, and if they do not move forward with repairs in a reasonable time frame, you can have the problem fixed yourself and deduct from the rent - but you MUST follow the exact procedures and give your Landlord a chance to make the repairs in the time allowed under the law. If you try to short-cut the process, you'll end up SOL.

As others have suggested, contacting your local housing inspector might end up in a more immediate response, but I'd still contact your Landlord in writing so you maintain a 2nd path of progress. Use Registered mail, return receipt requested, and send notice to the exact address in your lease ( or, the new address they should have notified you of when they took over ownership/management of the property.)

Follow the law, and you will end up warm. Good luck.

 

[treese]

You have options, but must follow the laws regarding how to take such action.

http://www.ocl.pitt.edu/rental/tenant-rights.html#habitat

File a complaint with governmental agencies such as the Allegheny County Department of Health or the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Building Inspection. A tenant or a landlord may ask them to examine the conditions of the apartment. If the property does not meet legal standards of construction, maintenance, or safety, notice will be given to the landlord and a time to make corrections will be set. If repairs are not made by the deadline, the landlord may be legally cited and will have to appear in court.

The court may assess fines and costs and order closure of the property. This process is serious, and significant penalties can be assessed. It also is time-consuming and may be extended by the actions of the landlord or his or her lawyer. The law prohibits retaliation by a landlord against a complaining tenant, but retaliation may occur. If subtle, it may be difficult to prove; if aggressive, it may be physically or psychologically intimidating. A lease does not have to be renewed at the end of its term; therefore, nonrenewal is a common ending for a complaining tenant.

Rent withholding may be undertaken only by authority of the Health Department. It may be authorized if a landlord is not responding to Health Department requests and the problems are significant. If authorized, a tenant will be given instructions to establish an escrow account in a local bank into which all rent payments and fees must be paid exactly as specified by the lease. If after six months the problems have not been corrected, the department will authorize payment of the money to the tenant and the lease will be voided. If the landlord makes the repairs within six months, he or she will be authorized to withdraw the deposited rent.


Repair and deduct is a self-help technique used by tenants that is sometimes available under certain circumstances. It allows a tenant to have needed repairs done and to deduct the cost of repairs from rent payments. The tenant would have to prove that the repairs were necessary to make the property habitable, the costs must be reasonable and cannot exceed the amount of rent owed for the remainder of the lease term, and the work must actually have been done. Work must meet applicable standards, and documentation for all costs must be provided. Before engaging in a repair and deduct remedy, the tenant should be careful to have previously given the landlord written notice of the defect and the steps that the tenant will take to fix if the landlord fails to repair within a reasonable time.


A tenant also may sue for rent recovery based on the extent of the value of damages or problems. A court would determine whether the property was significantly damaged, what percentage of the apartment was lost to the tenant by the damage, and what percentage of the rent already paid to the landlord should be returned to the tenant as adjustment.
Lastly, a tenant may ask a court to void or terminate a lease. Failure to provide or maintain a unit in a habitable condition, as defined in local building, maintenance, or safety codes, or failing to meet other significant promises or obligations made during the marketing of the property would provide the rationale for the request. As in all legal matters, documentation and witnesses are important elements to support a claim.

 

[FarmerJ]

BTW have you used another means of reading the temperature in the apt so you can see what it actually is showing? This would be a useful thing to do before calling inspections < the reason to do that first is so you wont look you do not know what your talking about. ( example , you have used a secondary means of checking temperature in the living room and bedroom , you find it shows 66 degrees, in each, several times through out the day. Your city/state has defined the heating season to be from Sept 15 to April 15, 68 degree min , you would have a legitimate complaint with LL then since system is not doing what it is supposed to wich would be to provide a min of 68 degrees. Yeah I suppose you could skip that step BUT if you have done it atleast inspections may be more willing to assist you faster. You might find that inspections might also take a look at the windows to see if weatherstrips need to be replaced or ordered which itself could be enough to make a unit alot more comfortable. BTW when heat is included and meets local defined heating season temperature ords or statutes it does not mean your LL must provide more than a minimum , many LLs have systems set up via conservation devices to limit heating systems to prevent tenants from doing things like setting heat to higher temperatures in order to control cost , LLs can do this. I did it when I lived in my previous place , and still had tenants complain when master T stat was set at 73/74 claiming it was still cold. ( they ended up using elect heaters paying the bill them selfs to have it as hot as they wanted)

 

[Howell123]

Gave them 24 hours before I call the building inspector, and have a professional come and do it.