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Landlord Won't Repair Heat

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whatthegeek

Junior Member
Located in: NJ

I live in a small four unit apartment building with two units upstairs and two downstairs. I've lived in this apartment for almost three years now. The first winter, we noticed that the heat didn't work well. In order to keep the apartment at a comfortable temperature, the heat had to be cranked to around 70 degrees. The thermometer on the thermostat did in fact reach the temperature the heat was set to, however, the thermostat is located in the center of the apartment. Two of the vents on the far end of the apartment actually blow air that ranges from slightly above room temperature to downright cold, depending on the outside temperature. If I had to guess, I'd say that most of the apartment isn't getting up to the temp that the thermostat is indicating, though I haven't put thermometers in each room yet to verify that.

That first winter, heating bills were around $400 a month for a small one bedroom apartment. With the dial set to 68 - 70, everyone in heating and air that I talked to said this was EXTREMELY unusual for an apartment this size, and the gas company admitted as much as well.

I approached the landlord about the issue as soon as I realized it was an issue, and he was actually pretty good about getting someone out to look at the heat. The heating guy found some small leaks in the gas line. The gas company also came out and replaced the meter. Shortly thereafter, the landlord sold the building to someone else. I told the new landlord what was going on, and in fact, so did another tenant who had been having similar problems. The new landlords promised to look into it, but never did. Despite constant verbal and written requests, they have yet to do anything about the problem. They did, however, fix the problem for the other unit having heating issues. The moved into one of the upstairs units (not the one with the problem, but the other unit) and chose to renovate their apartment, as well as replace the two upstairs heating units, while ignoring my issues. After last winter passed, and it came time to renew the lease, they still wouldn't agree to fix the heat, but due to financial restraints, I agreed to stay anyway. They did, in fact, raise the rent, despite not fixing the issue.

Last winter was spent with the heat at more like 63, and with a coat on indoors at most times. I only cranked the heat up on days when it was particularly cold, and even then, I only did so for a few hours at a time, and the bill still clocked in around $200 most months. The landlords are currently renovating another apartment in the building, and maintain that they just don't have the money to fix the heat.

If you got through all of that, hopefully you know whether or not there's something I can do about the situation legally. I'd rather not move if I don't have to, as I like the apartment itself, and the location, however, the heating situation is out of hand - I would just like to know if it's legally out of hand.
 


tiredofslumlord

Junior Member
Hi. I'm not a lawyer, but I have had to deal with a LL that wouldn't repair his property. I don't know the exact statute in your state, but most are the same. If you have notified the LL of the problem in writing and they haven't remedied it in a reasonable amount of time (usually 30 days) you have recourse to deposit your rent with the Housing Court in your city. They usually will issue a notice to the LL stating the problems you are having, and tell them that they will have to fix it before they can collect any rent from you, and you will have to continue to deposit your rent with the court until it is fixed. That way, your LL cannot evict based on non-payment. Call your Housing Court and see exactly what the rule is where you live.
 

whatthegeek

Junior Member
Hi. I'm not a lawyer, but I have had to deal with a LL that wouldn't repair his property. I don't know the exact statute in your state, but most are the same. If you have notified the LL of the problem in writing and they haven't remedied it in a reasonable amount of time (usually 30 days) you have recourse to deposit your rent with the Housing Court in your city. They usually will issue a notice to the LL stating the problems you are having, and tell them that they will have to fix it before they can collect any rent from you, and you will have to continue to deposit your rent with the court until it is fixed. That way, your LL cannot evict based on non-payment. Call your Housing Court and see exactly what the rule is where you live.
Thanks for the tip - I'll definitely keep that in mind going forward. Did you have to mail the written request by certified mail?

If there are any lawyers reading, I'm definitely still interested in further details about what I can do.
 

xylene

Senior Member
I've lived in this apartment for almost three years now.
It is time to move.

The heat works. The problem is that is not very efficient.

1. You probably have a high hurdle to show that the heat not working efficiently is something the landlord must resolve.

2. You have been living with it for so long the LL could calim this was not a problem.

3. Inefficient HVAC systems are a hard thing to prove.
 

whatthegeek

Junior Member
It is time to move.

The heat works. The problem is that is not very efficient.

1. You probably have a high hurdle to show that the heat not working efficiently is something the landlord must resolve.

2. You have been living with it for so long the LL could calim this was not a problem.

3. Inefficient HVAC systems are a hard thing to prove.
I've been concerned about the "high hurdle" - that's exactly why I haven't jumped on hiring a lawyer yet, lol.

I don't think they'd be able to claim it's not a problem - I have multiple witnesses to the issue, as well as documentation of continued complaints to them about the issue.

In NJ, the heat a landlord provides has to be able to reach 68 degrees throughout the entire winter. While the thermostat does reach 68, I strongly believe (though haven't tested yet) that half of the apt never gets that warm no matter what the heat is set to, and I intend to test that theory this winter (assuming they don't resolve it by then).

While I know the bit about 68 degrees, I don't know much else about the standards for functional heat in NJ, so I may very well not have any legal recourse here - that's what I'm hoping to find out on these forums.
 

FarmerJ

Senior Member
Stop talking to the LL , instead send one last complaint letter via certified mail, address the history of the problems you had with the heating system if the problem is not addressed say in another month when its colder then call in building inspections. If your building is one of them 4 plexes built in the 50s or early 60s it is entirely possible the furnance is simply shot and needs to be replaced or the fact that code may require that unit to have more insulation added.
 

whatthegeek

Junior Member
Stop talking to the LL , instead send one last complaint letter via certified mail, address the history of the problems you had with the heating system if the problem is not addressed say in another month when its colder then call in building inspections. If your building is one of them 4 plexes built in the 50s or early 60s it is entirely possible the furnance is simply shot and needs to be replaced or the fact that code may require that unit to have more insulation added.
You know, for some reason, building inspectors hadn't crossed my mind. The heater itself is new(ish) but everything it's attached to is basically held together by duct tape and bubble gum - and yea, the insulation here PROBABLY isn't up to code - I'm almost certain of that based on what I've seen inside the walls while sneaking a peak at the other apts they were remodeling. That might be a good idea - even if it doesn't get the heating system addressed, most likely, it will get me some new insulation.
 

xylene

Senior Member
I don't think they'd be able to claim it's not a problem - I have multiple witnesses to the issue, as well as documentation of continued complaints to them about the issue.
A complaint letter isn't proof.

In NJ, the heat a landlord provides has to be able to reach 68 degrees throughout the entire winter. While the thermostat does reach 68, I strongly believe (though haven't tested yet) that half of the apt never gets that warm no matter what the heat is set to, and I intend to test that theory this winter (assuming they don't resolve it by then).
That will take some work, but it is a good start.

good luck.

PS - the landlord saying "they can't afford it..." is not a defense to them not needing to do it. Tell them to get a credit line.
 

whatthegeek

Junior Member
PS - the landlord saying "they can't afford it..." is not a defense to them not needing to do it. Tell them to get a credit line.
Haha, when they said that to me as they renovated their apt, and put in central air for the upstairs apts, I KINDA wanted to kick them in the shins. Clearly they have money to throw around, they just don't want to spend it on frivolous things like my heat when they could buy themselves central air, and a remodeled apt.
 

FarmerJ

Senior Member
W with rental property , many LLs do plan for improvements by setting aside X percent or amount of rent money and adding to it in order to upgrade ,improve , make basic repairs , yes they can get a line of credit to help them when they need it , but they also are a newer owner and sad to say it was a choice to work on units as they became vacant ( very normal way to do it) so if they finish another unit soon your free to ask if you may move into it, if they say no your free to not renew with proper notice and move out or like I said call inspections , at this point inspections would be the best avenue if they find a problem in order to get the LL to correct it.
 

whatthegeek

Junior Member
W with rental property , many LLs do plan for improvements by setting aside X percent or amount of rent money and adding to it in order to upgrade ,improve , make basic repairs , yes they can get a line of credit to help them when they need it , but they also are a newer owner and sad to say it was a choice to work on units as they became vacant ( very normal way to do it) so if they finish another unit soon your free to ask if you may move into it, if they say no your free to not renew with proper notice and move out or like I said call inspections , at this point inspections would be the best avenue if they find a problem in order to get the LL to correct it.
Yea, unless someone floats a better suggestion, I'm going to be calling an inspector in the near future. Thanks for the suggestion.

As for their budget, they're not just new to owning this building, they're new to landlording, and I kinda suspect that they're just spending their money doing things that benefit the apt they live in, rather than worrying about how livable other units are. They renovated their apt, and now they're working on one that just became vacant, which, yea, as you said, is normal... just kinda would have liked to see them at least insulate my ductwork before renovating another apt, and telling me they don't have the money to do anything about my issue.
 

FarmerJ

Senior Member
I too would have a hard time watching them make changes to a unit they were going to occupy while being told ` im broke` Im not saying they werent entitled to do some work to a unit they were going to live in, Ive been through that, used to owner occupy one unit in a multi unit , Hopefully they will learn to keep mouths shut about there financials in the future. Since they are living there do self a favor , you said they are new , so dont be friends be polite , be civil and thats it. Its just cleaner that way.
 

whatthegeek

Junior Member
I too would have a hard time watching them make changes to a unit they were going to occupy while being told ` im broke` Im not saying they werent entitled to do some work to a unit they were going to live in, Ive been through that, used to owner occupy one unit in a multi unit , Hopefully they will learn to keep mouths shut about there financials in the future. Since they are living there do self a favor , you said they are new , so dont be friends be polite , be civil and thats it. Its just cleaner that way.
That's really the thing of it - I don't care if they upgrade their apt, as long as mine doesn't have any major flaws while they add luxuries to their own.

Yea, I generally make a point not to be TOO friendly with anyone I do business with. Polite? Sure. Friendly? Definitely. Friends? Nope. I've been trying to be patient with them because I know they're new, and I have friends that own property - I know it's not a simple undertaking. That being said, they've just been dismissing this problem for far too long without ever even stepping foot in the apt to see what the temp feels like.
 

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