Heat Laws (New York, York, Ovid: apartment, lease, tenant)

[JohnnyR]

Hi all,

I was hoping someone might be able to help me clarify a couple of things about heat laws. I know that heat must be "supplied" by the landlord and kept at a certain temperature, from October 1 through May 31. But does "supplied" mean they pay for it?

My heat is powered by the boiler (hot water), and my lease says this: regarding the "Utilities" item:

"18. Utilities. Lessee shall be responsible for arranging for and paying for all utility services required on the premises, except that, hot water shall be provided by the Lessor."

Questions:

(1) Does "PROVIDED" mean that the landlord is responsible for PAYING for hot water?

(2) If the hot water boiler powers the heat, are they responsible for paying for that?

Any help much appreciated!

[Viralmd]

It all depends on your lease. You may or may not be responsible to pay for your heat.

[Henna]

No, just because a landlord must supply heat does not mean he has to pay for it.

My last lease had the landlord paying for heat AND hot water. Two separate items. So just because your landlord pays for hot water does not mean necessarily that he also pays for heat.

Of course, I'm not a lawyer. If you need to have someone read and interpret your lease for you there are some tenant advocacy groups.

[rlrl]

A good lease would have a subsection under utilities with boxes to be checked by the landlord as to what utilities are/are not provided/included

my rent stabilized lease has this so there's no confusion

[drkman]

It all depends on your lease. In some buildings the heat and hot water is included in your rent. Normally, if you have the option of controlling the heat, then you will probably be paying for it because very few landlords will give you the option of controlling the heat and they be responsible for the bill. The reverse is also true as you cannot be responsible for paying for something that you have no control over.

You can try and call the utility company and find out if heat is included with your apartment as if you are required to pay heat, it would basically be gas heat.

Just looking at what you wrote though, it appears that you are responsible for heat, cooking gas and electricity, whereas your landlord would pay for the hot water. Hope you find the information that you are looking for.

[Carbro]

Originally Posted by drkman

Normally, if you have the option of controlling the heat, then you will probably be paying for it because very few landlords will give you the option of controlling the heat and they be responsible for the bill.

Oh? If I could control my heat, my landlord would save a bit of moolah. Not as bad as it used to be, but except for the two or three coldest and windiest days of winter, I always have a window open at least two inches. Sometimes I even have to run the fan in front of the window to pull in cooler air. After all, my thermometer read 88F.

New landlord, new boiler. It doesn't often get above 80, but it's still warmer than I like.

Oh, did I mention that my radiator is permanently shut OFF?

I know, plenty of New Yorkers would love to trade places with me. It's just stupid and wasteful to overheat, though, isn't it?

[JohnnyR]

But here's the problem - based on the lease - I do not pay for hot water. I DO pay for gas. But the heat is powered by hot water - which is powered by gas. So, the majority of a huge gas bill is going towards hot water - which is powering the heat.

Screwy, huh?

[drkman]

Originally Posted by JohnnyR

But here's the problem - based on the lease - I do not pay for hot water. I DO pay for gas. But the heat is powered by hot water - which is powered by gas. So, the majority of a huge gas bill is going towards hot water - which is powering the heat.

Screwy, huh?

Yep, that is really screwy. Unless the landlord can differentiate what is being used for hot water and what is being used for heat, it appears that it is probably illegal also.

[Carbro]

Are you sure you're paying for more gas than you use for cooking?

[JohnnyR]

Carbro -

"Are you sure you're paying for more gas than you use for cooking?"

Absolutely. My gas bill is about $150 (compared to about $20 in my last place, where I know for sure I was only paying for cooking.)

RJ