Landlord told repairmen to hide information regarding my failing heating unit???

[mdhugh2]

I'm living in Kentucky.

This is an e-mail I wrote to our property company I rent from. You'll get an idea of this rather strange occurrence after reading it.

"I have to say I'm very disappointed in what took place tonight. I've had nothing good dealings with your company except when it comes to the issue I'm about to address. Earlier today around 8:45 A.M. I put in a call to have my heating system looked at again which shut off over night leaving me to wake up to a cold 55 degree household. This now makes the FOURTH consecutive year that this has happened. I've made it very clear that I don't run the heat over 68 degrees to keep my energy costs low and which is well below the average household. When running the heat at that temperature the unit will typically come on for about 15 minutes and shutoff for another hour or so, overtaxing is clearly not the issue.

On multiple occasions each winter several technicians come out and look at the unit and give me a different "reason" why it's not working or do it patch work job say that "it should be fine" and then it breaks down days later. I do recall one repair man being very honest with me last year and saying the unit probably needs to be replaced and that he would follow up with you guys and there was no follow up. Luckily this was when the temperatures were warming up so it wasn't an issue but the commonsense thing to do would be to fix a heating problem when heating the home is not an issue (spring/summer). I'm starting to think you all are already aware of the actual problem and have been for quite some time especially since the technician that came out tonight literally said, "Positive Property sent us a long e-mail telling us not to disclose the problem with you." Exactly how am I suppose to trust a property company that tells its repairmen and technicians of choice not to tell the person who pays their hard earned money to live in one of their units not to share a problem with them. When I left work early to meet the technician the house had gotten down to 44 degrees at that point, that is inexcusable and I refuse to let this happen again. You guys are a property management company, you're suppose to manage and maintain the property for your owners and also those who are renting from you. I'm only sending this e-mail because it's after office hours. I will be calling tomorrow because this needs to be fixed immediately, hiding behind patchwork jobs, veiling your clients from what's actually happening and not confronting the real problem is unprofessional and also jeopardizes my health and safety especially when my home is dropping down to temperatures of 44 degrees."

Basically, is it even ethical or legal for them to go behind my back and tell the repairmen they hire not to tell me what's going on? Had I not asked him what the issue was I would of not known what was going on and now I suspect they've been doing this for years since they don't want to fork out the money to buy a new unit. The heat currently is working but it won't be before long I wake up to another frigid morning

 

[STEPHAN]

I use a trick when writing such e-mails:

I write them and review them next morning to make them friendlier. This way I don't forget that there are people on the other side, too.

Also, I always take the time to reduce mail to the minimum - the message I really want to get across. People need read it and understand it and do not need to get sidetracked by lots of irrelevant issues.

Any you would have found the sentences that make no sense like

I've had nothing good dealings with your company except when it comes to the issue I'm about to address

Do you have letters (no e-mails) of informing them of the problem? Not the whole story but just the facts? Do you have any as certified mail? If not, send one now. Start a paper trail. Phone calls, text messages and e-mail are almost worthless in court.

I also do not want my handyman, AC guy etc. discuss their findings with my tenants. Some of them always suggest replacing, as this is how they really make money. Also some tenants have no clue what they are talking about and confuse everybody with their “findings”. I pay them, so I have them talk to me.

I do however understand that it is cold right now and it should not be that way!

 

[mdhugh2]

I wrote that in all of 5 minutes but thanks for the heads up and at this point I do not have any trail because this is the first time it has become an issue. Until now, I've never had any of the repairmen actually tell me that they were told not to disclose any information with me regarding my heating unit. What I want to know right now is that even something they can do?

 

[mdhugh2]

I use a trick when writing such e-mails:

I write them and review them next morning to make them friendlier. This way I don't forget that there are people on the other side, too.

Also, I always take the time to reduce mail to the minimum - the message I really want to get across. People need read it and understand it and do not need to get sidetracked by lots of irrelevant issues.

Any you would have found the sentences that make no sense like



Do you have letters (no e-mails) of informing them of the problem? Not the whole story but just the facts? Do you have any as certified mail? If not, send one now. Start a paper trail. Phone calls, text messages and e-mail are almost worthless in court.

I also do not want my handyman, AC guy etc. discuss their findings with my tenants. Some of them always suggest replacing, as this is how they really make money. Also some tenants have no clue what they are talking about and confuse everybody with their “findings”. I pay them, so I have them talk to me.

I do however understand that it is cold right now and it should not be that way!

My issue is this is the third winter that this has happened. If it was a quick and simple fix it would have been taken care of by now, that's not the case. One of the guys they sent over said, "He didn't know what the problem was"????????

If we're going on three years of a failing heating unit it might be time to switch it out.

 

[STEPHAN]

If we're going on three years of a failing heating unit it might be time to switch it out.

Or time to move.

 

[quincy]

... Until now, I've never had any of the repairmen actually tell me that they were told not to disclose any information with me regarding my heating unit. What I want to know right now is that even something they can do?

Huh?

Why did you write to the property company that "the technician that came out tonight literally said, 'Positive Property sent us a long e-mail telling us not to disclose the problem with you' ..." if this was not true?

I don't mind if the repairmen or technicians discuss repairs with my tenants (although I can't imagine any of my tenants would be interested in such a discussion), but having a tenant lie to me about what my repairmen or technicians have said to them? That is a surefire way that tenant has of not getting his/her lease renewed.

I agree with Stephan. It is probably time for you to think of moving into a place that has reliable heat.

 

[mdhugh2]

Huh?

Why did you write to the property company that "the technician that came out tonight literally said, 'Positive Property sent us a long e-mail telling us not to disclose the problem with you' ..." if this was not true?

I don't mind if the repairmen or technicians discuss repairs with my tenants (although I can't imagine any of my tenants would be interested in such a discussion), but having a tenant lie to me about what my repairmen or technicians have said to them? That is a surefire way that tenant has of not getting his/her lease renewed.

I agree with Stephan. It is probably time for you to think of moving into a place that has reliable heat.

I'm confused on what you're saying. Nobody is lying, I'm quoting what the tech said to me which this is the first time I've been told they couldn't share any information with me. They are very aware of the situation because I've called them upwards to 15 times about it but this is the first time one of their techs have told me themselves by the company not to discuss any findings with me.

-He arrived at about 6PM
-Went on the roof for about 15-20 min.
-Came down and said he was leaving
-I then asked him what he thought was wrong with the unit.
-That's when he proceeded to tell me he was not allowed to disclose what he found at the request of Positive Property, he did add, "it's a pretty old unit."
-He then left

This is when I felt something odd might be going on and that basically the property company is doing all the things they can to ensure they don't spend a large amount of money and decided to write the e-mail (but have not sent yet)

Lastly, I've been here for 6 years now (so renewal has never been an issue), pay my rent on time each month. I don't want to move. I like the neighborhood and it's conveniently located for all the daily things I do in life...work, workout, errands, grocery shopping, etc.

 

[quincy]

I'm confused on what you're saying. Nobody is lying, I'm quoting what the tech said to me which this is the first time I've been told they couldn't share any information with me. They are very aware of the situation because I've called them upwards to 15 times about it but this is the first time one of their techs have told me themselves by the company not to discuss any findings with me.

-He arrived at about 6PM
-Went on the roof for about 15-20 min.
-Came down and said he was leaving
-I then asked him what he thought was wrong with the unit.
-That's when he proceeded to tell me he was not allowed to disclose what he found at the request of Positive Property, he did add, "it's a pretty old unit."
-He then left

This is when I felt something odd might be going on and that basically the property company is doing all the things they can to ensure they don't spend a large amount of money and decided to write the e-mail (but have not sent yet)

You are confused about what I am saying because I was confused about what you were saying. Sorry. I see now the mistake I made when reading your post.

That said, I see no reason for a landlord to tell his repairmen or technicians NOT to talk the tenants about the problems they find. If it helps the tenant understand what is going on, it can be to everyone's benefit. BUT, there is nothing wrong with a landlord handling repair calls in the way yours has, and Stephan apparently finds it helps him to have his maintenance crew operate that way, too.

It is entirely possible that the heating system in your unit needs an overhaul or needs replacing, and it is entirely possible that the landlord is trying to keep the old system going as long as it can to save him an expensive repair - not unlike a homeowner who is reluctant to purchase a new furnace or refrigerator if a repair allows for it to work another year.

A simple fix for you for now is to have electric heaters on hand for the nights (or days) your heating system decides to take a break and shuts off, and you might even request that your landlord provide them free of charge. If the problem is frequent, however, and the repairs do not fix the heating system properly, you can report the landlord to your area health department.

Sorry again about my mistake in reading your post. Too little sleep, too little caffeine.

 

[FarmerJ]

So did it ever occur to you to call your city housing inspectors out ?

 

[Just Blue]

My issue is this is the third winter that this has happened. If it was a quick and simple fix it would have been taken care of by now, that's not the case. One of the guys they sent over said, "He didn't know what the problem was"????????

If we're going on three years of a failing heating unit it might be time to switch it out.

Its time for you to move.