No hot water for months in shower. Is landloard obligated?

Discussion in 'Landlord & Rental Property Questions' started by eddiemoneys, Jan 19, 2016.

  1. eddiemoneys

    eddiemoneys Well-Known Member

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    I live in a state that is usually hot during the summer but very cold in the winter. The place I live has multiple units, and the landlord includes everything that you would normally pay in one payment for rent. On the lease, it shows how the rent is divided between trash and water. Ok, but here's the deal: I've been here for over 3 years - constantly renewed my lease each year - never missed a payment - always on time. Even when they raised the rent, I didn't complain or contest it. But for 6 months of my most recent lease, I have had NO hot water whatsoever in my shower. None. I have it from the sinks, but not the shower.

    For the first 2 months, it was 6 to 8 seconds of warm water, then instantly ice-cold. I've contacted them numerous times and asked them to fix it, and they keep making excuses, turning on and off the water for other residents and saying they are fixing the water, but it seems like each time they do this the water situation only gets worse. Whether they are fixing it or not I'm not sure, but what I am sure of is that I haven't had hot water from my shower for nearly 6 months. They finally sent the maintenance man up to my place after 4 months and he said it was the shower catridge being old. He replaced it, and I hoped that that would correct the situation. It did nothing. The only thing it fixed is the position of the hot and cold water, because when I first moved in the maintenance man had it on backwards.

    Are they obligated to reimburse me or is there any way that rent can be reduced until they are able to provide hot water from the shower? I've been looking through the Landlord-Tenant act for the United States, but can't seem to find anything specific to this, and just that they need to provide water to the tennant. I have water, just no hot water unless I make buckets from the sink like I'm living in the 1700's. Just wondering what my options are here. I still have 5 more months on my lease like this.

    Any recommendations or advice is welcome.
     
  2. Rainman

    Rainman Senior Investor

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    If you have notified your landlord of the issue IN WRITING you can sue him. Of course if he wants to settle matters out of court he can which is why you need to inform him of your intention to sue.

    Take a look at the article linked to below:

    http://tenant.net/Court/Howcourt/hpaction.html
    I doubt you'll be getting any reimbursement though.
     
  3. crimsonghost747

    crimsonghost747 Senior Investor

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    Honestly, it would be best to contact your landlord about this directly. A pretty simple: "look I told you X months ago and it's still isn't fixed. So either you lower the rent by X until the problem is fixed or I will have to contact my lawyer." Find out the appropriate laws and tell him about his legal obligations as a landlord in case he isn't familiar with them.

    Hot water is a necessity in today's world and while I'm not familiar with the law in the USA it's more than likely that the landlord HAS to provide you with warm water to wash yourself with.
     
  4. pwarbi

    pwarbi Senior Investor

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    A lot will also depend on how well you get on with your landlord, even though it shouldn't. If you have told him time and time again about the situation, then keep telling him but if you get on well, in a light hearted but firm way. If still nothing is done, THEN is the time to get the courts involved and just withold paying your rent until it is sorted.
     
  5. Sweetymae

    Sweetymae Member

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    Well, in our case because I've been renting for almost a year. It should be the tenant's obligation in Philippines :p
     
  6. L_B

    L_B Well-Known Member

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    Here we have the Office of the Rentals men which deals with issues like this. They usually give the landlord a certain time to have it fixed or he is fined. Hot water is a necessity and there is no excuse for you to have to go that long without it. Unfortunately if you have talked to the landlord on a number of occasions and he still refuses to fix it then you will have no choice but to take him to court. I don't think they will reimburse you for the money you have already paid though. Your best bet is to talk to a lawyer and see what your options are.
     
  7. Corzhens

    Corzhens Senior Investor

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    Unless explicitly stipulated in the lease contract that the landlord has no responsibility whatsoever on the upkeep of the facilities, it is by law that the landlord should see to it that all facilities are working particularly the utilities - electricity, water, phone and other existing facilities. With hot water, it depends on the lease contract because there are portable water heater. But for a centralized heater, I guess that is the landlord's fault.
     
  8. kgord

    kgord Senior Investor

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    I think you should contact a law firm that deals with landlord tenant relations. They should be able to tell you the best course of action in your circumstance, and whether you have a case or not. You might want to document what has happened with the situation in the past few months, and what is continuing to happen.
     
  9. Kate

    Kate Senior Investor

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    From a legal standpoint... I have no idea. But morally I have to say this this is appalling that a landlord would be putting up a fuss about such a vital tenant need as hot water.

    I agree with what kgord said... if it's not in your lease agreement that the tenant takes care of those kinds of issues, you'll really want to find out what your legal rights are here.
     
  10. pwarbi

    pwarbi Senior Investor

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    While it might be shocking, it's no worse than what a lot of landlords do to their tenants, especially the ones that they know don't have anywhere else to go.

    While these are the most vulnerable, they're also the easiest for a landlord to try and bully and they can come up with alsorts of tricks to get out of their responsibilities.
     

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