Heat Repair (below freezing)

[MemphisQueen]

What is the name of your state? Georgia

Okay so I've read through the entire 44-7 GA code (Landlord/Tenant) and didn't see anything mentioned about limits that must be maintained regarding temperature. Does anyone know where I should look?

My scenario: Came home from a trip to find the temperatures had plummeted in GA, requiring me to turn on the heat. Forecast that night was 29 degrees. After an hour the air was not warm, I called the after hours emergecy line told them my heat was not working. Repair man refused to come out. Left me at home in the BELOW freezing temperatures all night. Over 12 hours later, a repair man showed up (after I had called at 7:30am to prompt another repair), he showed up and had to replace the thermostat along with repairing the actual heating unit itself.

Is there a law/code where there is a lower limit for inside temperature in an apartment unit??

 

[LindaP777]

It's fixed, now, right? You have plenty of heat?
What would you like to see your landlord do now to make up for the delay in the repair?
The landlord can not foresee the heat going out prior to the heat going out. You can not foresee the heat going out prior to you turning on the heat. Fixing it within 12 hours doesn't seem unreasonable to me (considering the call was after normal business hours) . Others might have a different view.

 

[BL]

It's fixed, now, right? You have plenty of heat?
What would you like to see your landlord do now to make up for the delay in the repair?
The landlord can not foresee the heat going out prior to the heat going out. You can not foresee the heat going out prior to you turning on the heat. Fixing it within 12 hours doesn't seem unreasonable to me (considering the call was after normal business hours) . Others might have a different view.

Is there a law/code where there is a lower limit for inside temperature in an apartment unit??

By OP .

The poster is asking a ligament question of , Is there a minimum heat in degrees in GA. during the heating season ?? That's the question they are asking advice on .

Poster I can't find it either , someone else may come along with the answer .

 

[ENASNI]

By OP .

The poster is asking a ligament question of , Is there a minimum heat in degrees in GA. during the heating season ?? That's the question they are asking advice on .

Poster I can't find it either , someone else may come along with the answer .

'Tis indeed a tricky question. I tried federal laws. No dice. The best I could come up with is 65 degrees is the median for most States.

Some states went down to 58 at night. Others said between 63 and 68.

What I conclude from this is that it is definitely not below freezing. However, I do understand Linda's point. It is done, one bad night and it is fixed. But I do understand Sir Blonde's point too. It was a question.

I do hope someone comes up with the true statute though, just in case this winter someone has an ongoing problem and truly needs to get it fixed.

 

[LindaP777]

I guess I was just trying to head the OP off at the pass. Usually people aren't curious for just no reason. If they were asking because they want to ask for free rent (my assumption, here) because they were inconvenienced for a night, that's not reasonable IMO. It could be, because they are afraid it will happen again and want to be prepared. It could be because they spent the night in a hotel room and want to be reimbursed (Motel 6 or the Ritz?). It could be I just think too much!

 

[ENASNI]

I guess I was just trying to head the OP off at the pass. Usually people aren't curious for just no reason. If they were asking because they want to ask for free rent (my assumption, here) because they were inconvenienced for a night, that's not reasonable IMO. It could be, because they are afraid it will happen again and want to be prepared. It could be because they spent the night in a hotel room and want to be reimbursed (Motel 6 or the Ritz?). It could be I just think too much!

Girl, you are ruining all our good work. If you let people think you can tell the future,they will ask all types of questions. They all ready think we are THESE! .

 

[MemphisQueen]

I guess I was just trying to head the OP off at the pass. Usually people aren't curious for just no reason. If they were asking because they want to ask for free rent (my assumption, here) because they were inconvenienced for a night, that's not reasonable IMO. It could be, because they are afraid it will happen again and want to be prepared. It could be because they spent the night in a hotel room and want to be reimbursed (Motel 6 or the Ritz?). It could be I just think too much!

Nope I stayed at home, but they do have afterhours emergency repair - clearly indicated in my lease available, which I called - and which the maintenance man (who, again, gets PAID TO BE ON CALL) hung up on me and refused to come out to repair the unit - on a night below freezing.

I want to know is there is any lower level limit so I can place a complaint with the police or the BBB or anything like that. I looked up all kinds of medical things b/c that night I had uncontrollable shivering, unable to sleep, and developed a serious cough -- all the first signs of hypothermia. Mild hypothermia can set in with only a 2 degree drop in body temperature. A drop of 4 degrees puts you in the moderate category with the life-threatning state occuring at 7 degrees. If I were old, I likely would've died overnight. That can't be taken lightly - even if it is only 12 hours that one is left without heat.

I had come back from a business trip so it wasn't like the heat was on and then went off and slowly dissipated out of the unit. It went from room temperature to freezing inside.

 

[LindaP777]

Girl, you are ruining all our good work. If you let people think you can tell the future,they will ask all types of questions. They all ready think we are THESE! .

LOL!!!

 

[enjay]

You are way overreacting. The police? Over a 12 hour delay? Sheesh. What would you do if there were a real snow storm and the power was knocked out, call for the death penalty?

If it were 29 outside it was probably a good 60 degrees inside, but for the sake of argument maybe it was 55. Socks and a comforter work wonders.

 

[BL]

29 outside with no heat = 55 - 60 inside gee , let the government know so the will no longer provide HEAP .

Yes it is over reacting .. Most States provide landlords the opportunity to rectify the issues within reasonable time . 12 hrs is not unreasonable .

I remember once with no heat in NY with an infant . and it sure wasn't 55-60 inside LMAO .. Hell my grands slept upstairs with no heat in there farmhouse in the winter with only the old coal burning stove pipe heat up there . They didn't die until old age .

 

[enjay]

I live in a condo. It's been in the 20s - 30s all week (DC area). At night I keep the temp on 65 and I click it off during the day (I'm cheap). When I get home its rare that it is less than 60 and I generally lose just a few degrees. Maybe I'm just lucky, but unless you live in a lean-to it will always be warmer in an apartment than it is outside, because the units contribute heat to each other. Days upon days of freezing temps and it will get progressively colder, but a typical Georgia day (say, probably in the 50's this time of the year) and one freezing night will not hypothermia bring.

 

[queenofsand]

Call your code enforcement dude/dudette to find out what your local ordinances require.

Back in the olden days, our landlord wouldn't fix the heater so we used the burners and the oven to heat the house. Ice formed inside the house. Despite the interior sub-freezing temp and our best effort to peg the CO monitor (that didn't exist yet), I survived to make smart aleck comments 3 decades later.

 

[MemphisQueen]

It had been cold all week - and I had been away all week without the heat on. So with the cold snap the thermostat was reading in the 40s - and since the heat wasn't working and all the unit was doing was blowing around cold air, it was damn cold. I was under four blankets, fleece pajamas, wool socks, and still freezing.

the point is, my rent goes towards emergency repairs. states it right in the lease. all the other units had heat; i asked my neighbors - just not mine. and for the record i do live in a crappy apt. the windows are so thin that you can literally see the blinds INSIDE swaying in the wind when the wind blows. that's what i get for the artsy area close to work and not like your nice insulated place that you speak so highly of.

like i said, i'm not trying to get any $$ out of them or anything else - but i'm 27 and healthy and i still felt the effects. if i were older or weaker it would've been way more disastrous. hence the question as to whether in GA (a place that isn't typically this cold) there is a lower limit on the state books. i made the mgmt company aware of the issue, the maintenance man was on call and refused to come out to fix it right away. i had no sun to warm the room, etc, as it was overnight that he left me to my own devices.

 

[BL]

It had been cold all week - and I had been away all week without the heat on. So with the cold snap the thermostat was reading in the 40s - and since the heat wasn't working and all the unit was doing was blowing around cold air, it was damn cold. I was under four blankets, fleece pajamas, wool socks, and still freezing.

the point is, my rent goes towards emergency repairs. states it right in the lease. all the other units had heat; i asked my neighbors - just not mine. and for the record i do live in a crappy apt. the windows are so thin that you can literally see the blinds INSIDE swaying in the wind when the wind blows. that's what i get for the artsy area close to work and not like your nice insulated place that you speak so highly of.

like i said, i'm not trying to get any $$ out of them or anything else - but i'm 27 and healthy and i still felt the effects. if i were older or weaker it would've been way more disastrous. hence the question as to whether in GA (a place that isn't typically this cold) there is a lower limit on the state books. i made the mgmt company aware of the issue, the maintenance man was on call and refused to come out to fix it right away. i had no sun to warm the room, etc, as it was overnight that he left me to my own devices.

And again , tell us what you would do if there was an event that knocked the power out ? even for days ? Gee have a kniption would ya ? no one can find it , YET .

 

[Just Blue]

OP...You've been living in the south too long....move to Boston...just for 1 winter....it will give you a whole new perspective on what cold is **************...