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I live in the middle of Alaska (the coldest part) and only use 400 gallons of heating fuel a year. My cabin is pretty small though, only about 800 sq. ft. but the insulation in it is not real good.
Status:
"I didn't do it, nobody saw me"
(set 1 day ago)
Location: Ocala, FL
6,486 posts, read 10,360,322 times
Reputation: 7940
If there was a crack in the oil tank, it would be an environmental hazard and not up to the landlord to decide whether or not to remove the tank and what to replace it with. I agree that there does need to be some accounting for the unused oil remaining in the tank by the company that removed it. I would consult a legal service, paralegal for instance, for advice. Probably should be addressed in a small claims court IMHO.
I'm betting the reason the landlord won't tell the tenant what company they used, or provide a receipt, is because they probably hired a company to remove it for free, with the company getting to keep the oil and not provide a refund for the oil they took. The landlord probably didn't consider how much money the tenants had just put into the oil, and is now trying to get out of having to pay the full amount the tenant is owed.
Do you have receipts and records which would indicate the rate at which you typically used oil?
This would be very useful if you decide to go the court route. If you can show that your history over a long period is to use $200 of oil in a month, rather than $400...you're more likely to find a judge siding with you and not your landlord.
Either way, I'd start looking for a new place. Your landlord is not going to be happy, and will be looking for any excuse to evict you or not to renew your lease.
Forgetting the leak, the oil company you used should be able to give a reasonable estimate of how much oil would have been used given the temperature setting and number of days along with the degree days of that time period and your use history.
If he won't cooperate, go after him in small claims court and it will be up to him to recover the value of the oil, if indeed, he got a credit for it.
If he traded the oil for the removal or whatever other arrangement he made, is his problem.
He is still responsible for your loss...technically, he sold, traded or gave away something of yours.
But the mediator just doesn't want to deal with it anymore and is not being helpful. She told us to just go to small claims court, but I think that based on all the nessecary paperwork, we can just deduct it from the rent and it wont be a violation of the lease.
Sounds good to me. Then the landlord will take you to court and a Judge will decide and it will be done with.. I just have one question. If you knew the tank had a crack why did you fill it?
I'm betting the reason the landlord won't tell the tenant what company they used, or provide a receipt, is because they probably hired a company to remove it for free, with the company getting to keep the oil and not provide a refund for the oil they took. The landlord probably didn't consider how much money the tenants had just put into the oil, and is now trying to get out of having to pay the full amount the tenant is owed.
Sounds like a likely scenario.
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Then the landlord will take you to court and a Judge will decide and it will be done with.. I just have one question. If you knew the tank had a crack why did you fill it? 
