Landlord refuses to repair central heater - Please look at this letter.

In My Humble Opinion
1

Hey all,

I’m having some trouble with my landlord. I was gonna send him this letter, but figured I’d run it past you guys first. I am aware that nobody on this board is my attorney, and that nobody is offering me legal advice. I mostly want help with the wording.

I was thinking of adding something in there reassuring them that we do not want to move and do not want to press things any further if at all possible; we just want to not have to wear sweaters indoors. I’m not sure where to put it, though, and I don’t want it to seem like I’m threatening them.

My goal is to get through the winter in the same apartment, without my rent being jacked through the roof in retaliation, and with the freaking heating fixed.

Thanks,

MtO

2

I’d cut out the per CA code part, including the code. but that’s a calculation made depending on your needs.

At the point where you start throwing law at him you’re coming off as hostile and they may just work against you.

Just letting them know you personally don’t find space heaters acceptable might be enough to get the ball rolling. If they still don’t react you then throw the law at them.

I tend to escalate in steps, with multiple documented interactions, then if you find yourself in front of a magistrate you can confidently say you made every effort to be reasonable, and have supporting documentation to show it.

3

Other notes: While we’ve only been there a year and some, we have been pretty darn good tenants. We don’t complain, we’re not noisy, and our rent is always right on time. There was a dispute fairly early on about the dishwasher, but we wound up eating the costs on that one and not attempting to get any of the money back from it.

We had a 1-year lease, which has since transmuted to month-to-month.

Anyway, yeah.

4

Have you verbally told him that the space heater option isn’t acceptable for the winter?

5

Hm. Husband asked him about it when he dropped off the rent, but I don’t believe he out and out said that the space heater solution isn’t OK.

However, because of the problems with not getting things in writing in the Aforementioned Dishwasher Incident, I’d like to have as much of the conversation as possible in writing.

6

Even reading my post may cause trouble… but… what happens if you call the city & tell them that your landlord is refusing to provide you with a working heater (aka: heat) in November?

YMMV (ev state is different) but won’t some will hit him/her with fines that exceed the cost of a new furnace/boiler?

7

Well, I’d say going from being ok with a situation for months to threatening letters is a bit of a dick move. I’d call and talk with him first.

8

If necessary, we can do that - but I’d really rather not go there this quickly. If he proposes something reasonable (for example, if he can’t afford to replace the heater, then discounting our rent by $100/mo for the winter + paying for multiple space heaters + promising in writing to have it fixed by 10/1/12 would be fine.)

9

Okay…I’ve reduced the Legal Code bit to just the bolded items, with elipses to indicate the rest.

What do you think about this change to the final paragraph, to soften things a little (Bolded section is new):

10

I agree that citing the laws at this stage is a bit premature; your goal at this point (I assume) is getting your furnace fixed. I agree that doing this by writing is a good idea, since your landlord has proved that you need to take that step.

I’ve taken the liberty of re-writing your letter without citing the laws and softening it a bit, but still making it clear what you expect:

11

I dunno if your city has a moderately friendly inspections department. If they do, alert them and maybe they’ll drop by and issue him a work order with a deadline to avoid a citation (which in some of our localities is a Misdemeanor citation against the owner).

And then check your other laws, because in other jurisdictions I have lived in, you are allowed to make the repairs and then deduct them from your rent if the landlord fails to make them within a certain period of time. In one past apartment I lived in, the disposal didn’t work for like six months, and the landlord kept ignoring my requests to get it fixed. So I let them know that I was going to have it fixed by N date and deduct it from my rent under Law X. It was fixed within a week after that.

12

As a landlord, I concur.
But then I borrowed $4000 to replace the A/C furnace when it failed.

13

[Eddie Murphy]

C-I-L-L my landlord

[/Eddie Murphy]

14

Well, gee, thanks!

:slight_smile:

15

What? The OP didn’t complain about the lack of heat during the summer in Los Angeles?

I think that if the situation was brought up last winter, the beginning of the next winter is a perfectly appropriate time to begin threatening letters. The landlord has, after all, had months to fix it.

16

Yes, but if he is that much of a dick, threats are just going to piss him off. Talk to him first.

17

So what?

18

Because the landlord is in a position of power here? He can terminate the now-month-to-month arrangement or raise the rent as much as legally allowable to get rid of a bothersome tenant.

Maggie the Ocelot, I liked your second “softened” version without the legal chapter and verse; I think it strikes the right note.

19

The OP knew about the situation, and made it seem like they were fine using space heaters for the winter. If they weren’t ok with the deal proposed many months ago, they should have made it known then. Sitting on something for months and then demanding urgent repairs qualifies as a dick move. So does sending a threatening letter without picking up the phone and calling them first.

20

He’s got laws to follow.

If he won’t follow those laws, and gets pissed off, fuck him. Find somewhere else to rent. Where’s the power?