I don’t do residential rentals, but I do tons of comnmercial rentals and Treis’ position is exactly the calculation most commercial landlords will make if a major repair of upgrade is necessary, especially on a month to month lease.
A lot of minor league commercial landlords will often prefer to keep the rent lower than market vs making major infrastructure repairs. If the unit eventually needs an upfit to various pieces of equipment they will look at the rental market place and price the unit similarly to those in comparable repair, location, condition etc. in order to be competitive.
If someone who is getting a somewhat below market rent on a month to month lease demands a heating system replacement, and the landlord offers a choice between continuing with a below market rent sans replacement or paying more (ie a market rent) if he makes the substantial investment in a new HVAC system, I’m not seeing where the landlord is being particularly abusive.
If the housing code requires him to provide a full HVAC system, and he does so I’m not quite seeing where he is being out of line to want a rental increase from a month to month tenant if he does this in order to amortize the cost of this installation.
Saying that upgrading or replacing an HVAC system is not an “improvement” but a “requirement” and thus should not be amortized as part of an increase in the required cash flow of the rental income is a nonsensical distinction. Whatever you put into the unit has to be paid for on some basis or the investment will not make sense. If I have old, crappy fixtures and upgrade them all to say I cannot, or should not, be able to look for a rental increase for doing this is silly. I now have a nicer unit to offer for lease which can command more rent.
I feel like some here are being a little harsh on the landlord -
YES, in an ideal situation, he would have been setting aside a “repairs and maintenance” amount from the rent - it appears that he hasn’t been doing that, but had he been, the rent would probably have been $100 more (or maybe even higher) per month.
So all this while Maggie has been “benefitting” from his inexperience.
If I were him and in front of a judge - I would plead inexperience and that the rent had not been priced correctly, and that this repair made me realise that the rent was too low - so now I’m bringing it into line with the median market.
I would actually then offer a 3 month “holiday” on the increase to Maggie to signal my good intentions and general “good guy” attitude.
I think I’ve been very helpful so far in this thread. I provided examples of what to buy and how to make the place comfortable when you get home in the evenings. The timers are really great and the oil-filled radiators are comfortable, nearly silent and safe.
But for someone who is looking at being laid off with a long-term unemployed husband, you’re really barking up the wrong tree here. Beggars can’t be choosers, and you sure as shit are begging. The situation would be totally different if you lived in the North, naturally; we’d all be far more sympathetic.
you can’t afford to move and you can’t afford to deal with an increase. So please shut up about “I am within my rights”. If you’re so confident, go fucking withold the rent and see how well it goes for you. Let us know.
You have been helpful, and I said above that, having listened to everyones input and discussed the various issues and weighed everything, we’re going to be doing as you suggest and sitting on things as they are. Because, as you say, we don’t really have any other practical option.
It rankles. I hate that I’m now pretty much confined to one bedroom when I’m home, because that’s what we can heat easily, when we’ve got this big two bedroom place that we should be able to use. I hate that we won’t be able to have people over until spring. I hate feeling poor, and I hate giving in when I know damn well that I’m right, and when I have a sneaking, completely unprovable suspicion that the landlord knew about this before he rented the place to us. I hate the feeling of being bundled up in layers of clothing. I hate that my mother (queen of cutting off her nose to spite her face) is going to be disappointed in me for not standing up for myself, even though I know that doing so would be worse in the long term.
But yeah, that’s what I’m gonna do. Cos sometimes life just hands you a shit sandwich, and you gotta be grateful that there’s at least some ketchup and mustard on it.
I dunno,
where I come from it’s pretty normal in the winter to be around freezing point (frosty lawns are pretty) - and heating has never been a “requirment”. Growing up, our bedrooms were very rarely heated, so you’d “live” in the living room, and then go straight to bed (hopefully under warm covers or with an electric blankie :D)
I kinda don’t get this sense of entitlement “but in could weather we should be able to roam the house”.
I remember pretty vividly the house I lived in as a student - my god was that cold! But the only heat was what we provided for ourselves…
But hey - for me it’s a whole different cultural perspective.
How cold does it get in Southern California? 50s, 40s, 30s? How often does it get that cold? If it gets so cold that her house is colder 60 or 65 degrees for more than a few weeks per year, then I’d say the landlord is morally obligated to supply a Plan B.
If it doesn’t, then I agree with the others who say that if the landlord pays the electric, then why not take him up on his offer to allow you to run room heaters? Put one in the main rooms and each of the inhabited bedrooms and use them freely. That’s what a lot of people in southern Florida do.
So perhaps you should contact him and say, “Okay, I won’t complain about the lack of heat, but I do want two more space heaters.”
I keep my house between 62 and 65 and use the space heaters I linked to as supplements. It’s easy to use them to get the room 5-7 degrees warmer. I don’t bundle up either, other than a long sleeved shirt, fleece pants and socks. Set a timer for the living room heater for after work, then turn on the bedroom heater an hour before bed.
Presumably you’re cooking at home very often since money’s tight. So leave the oven door open after doing so. Take a hot shower before bed (and, if you don’t pay for water, leave it running with the door open for a bit afterwards). Get some hot water bottles. Get microwaveable slippers. Warming your feet makes the rest of you feel warm (think of it as the reverse of wearing sandals).
Also, I wouldn’t admire anyone who routinely cuts off their nose to spite their face.
I wouldn’t accept his offer of space heaters either since the cheapest ones are shit but I would suggest a $100 rental credit (as in, paying him 1100 next month) towards buying your own (including timers, bottles, slippers) if he’s open to it.
I still don’t understand what you are complaining about. If landlord was completely compliant with all laws and what not, he would have installed a new heater and then increased your rent when the lease was up to reflect his increased capital costs. All he has done is give you options.