Okay, we moved into this condo conversion complex in August of this year. In November we began having issues with our hot water to where there was little or no hot water. Some days it was luke warm others there was none. It was later brought to our attention (after 7 days of this issue ) that there was a broken pipe under one of the units in our complex. Another week went by to where we had NO water at all. Eventually (after 5 more days) this issue was fixed and we had water, but still no HOT water or water pressure. Then our landlord (who was trying to be nice IMHO) offered that we could take a shower in one of the empty apartments in the complex, but even that apartment didn’t have any hot water. After complaining again, the landlord finally sent out someone (a guy you pick up from in front of Home Depot to landscape) to come take a look at our apartment. The “plumber” found that there was a build up of sediment (fancy word for dirt) in our pipes from when the downstairs apartment had the busted pipe. After 2 days the problem was “fixed” but we continued to have issues with the dirt in the pipes and had to clean out the screens of each faucet ourselves because the landlord said the dirt would eventually all wash out. After almost 2 more weeks of this same issue and never fully having hot water or complete water pressure, a real plumber was sent out and fixed the issue temporarily but now the water was basically boiling when we turned the hot water on. I have 2 children (Ages 6 and 2) and when we tried to give my 2 year old son a bath after we thought everything was fixed, the water was so hot there was no way he could stand it and there was no way to turn the water heat down it was ONLY coming out boiling. The same plumber returned and partially fixed the issue to where we were back to “luke” warm water, but after months of having issues we were actually relieved that we could at least take a shower (a quick 5 min shower). Now 2 weeks later we have no hot water again and have just been told that another apartment in our complex has a busted pipe and we will be without hot water for at least 3 days.
At this point I just want to know what my options are. Obviously moving out and finding another apartment is what we would like to do, but as it is we live pay check to pay check. Again we have 2 children and I don’t think it’s right that the landlord can continue charging us full rent for a apartment with no hot water, but I’m not a lawyer and don’t really know what my rights are. Can I withhold rent? Or take some rent off? If so, how much is reasonable? Do I still have to give a 30 days notice to move out? What would you do in my situation? Any and all ideas will help at this point because I’m starting to feel helpless and the more threads I read, the less faith I have that there actually is a law on the side of the tenants and not just the landlords. I get it the laws help people with money and lawyers aren’t free so landlords have the upper hand. But is there anything I can do? Or do I just continue to try and tough it out and HOPE the situation gets better?
You livein California. There are more laws protecting tenants than landlords. To be a landlord in Calif is a chancey position. Your landlord is in a bad position, he just hopes that his tenants do not know their rights. Check with the county or city they probably have a tenants help department.
This should be a simple dial adjustment on the hot water tank. Is it accessible to you in a closet? Any homeowner can easily adjust the temperature dial on a hot water heater. Or is it locked up in a utility room?
Do you have a bad faucet? Why couldn’t you regulate the water? Push the lever towards the cold side.
Me thinks there is more to the circumstances than you’re telling us. However, is one tank servicing several apartments. If so that may be the problem. Have you contact other tenants and ask them if they also have problems. I saw and helped fix a condo that had a tank for each apartment but the piping was all diverted into one main pipe to service four units. The other tenants turned off their tanks and used the hot water from my friend. Needless to say his water and electric bill was out of sight. He sued the condo and won several months worth of back payment on water and energy bills.
Can’t speak to your rights as a tennant in CA. But as for the plumbing…
First you want to know if each condo has its own water heater or not and if you have access to that heater. If so, you can simply adjust the thermostat on the unit.
Cast iron plumbing can rust from the inside out over time. If the place is more than 30 years old, it may have iron plumbing. Any time a plumber messes with old iron plumbing, it loosens built up rust/sediment which gets into the faucet screens, etc.
What probably happened - over time - as the iron plumbing became more restricted due to a build up of rust/sediment, someone would gradually turn up the temp on the heater to compensate. Then you come along, they replace certain sections of pipe which clears the blockage, but the heater is set way high from before. Now the hot water flows freely and the heat is cranked waaay up. So you complain again (which is fine, I would complain too) and they maybe turn the temp down too far - OR -
The heater is aged such that sediment from the pipes has filled a significant portion of the heater. This reduces the capacity of the heater and its ability to heat the water efficiently because there’s all the junk on the bottom between the heat exchanger and the water.
And/or it could be a busted dip tube inside the heater - which is like a $3 dollar fix. Or any combination of the above.
You could ask when the heater was installed. Depending on the type/model, they can start to go after 10 years. There are sometimes ways to remove the sediment, sometimes not - and then the heater may need to be replaced.