Please tell me what my rights are, stealing gas, (apartment, lease, tenant)

[danni728]

I moved into a 4 unit house in October 2009, from the start the downstairs door was broken, when shut you could not get it back open without force.

On January 13 at around 11 pm our house got really cold, none of my gas appliances were working. I called Dominion and the were here in about a hour and 25 minutes.
Someone stole the gas meters and the gas was leaking out of my house. He also said that someone in the unit was stealing my gas.

After fixing the meter they red tagged all hot water tanks in the building and red tagged my heater because Co was coming through, the spillage switch was bypassed, spillage from hood, and defective controls.

He put a lock on the all of the meters except for my unit and the other upstairs unit.

The next morning I was talking to my downstairs neighbor and telling her what was going on. Her husband came out and I told him the situation minus someone stealing my gas.

His exact words were, Man I told Br*** not to F with my meters, we are stealing gas, we have kids down here and I can not even call the gas company because we have everything rigged down there.

when I was talking to them the 2 other meters were still locked.
Later that night I went down just to check and they broke the meter.
Now they have access to the basement but I dont.

I ended up calling the police, the gas company came out, took pictures, and the gas company supervisor came out.

I called the police and made a police report.

These whole two days with no hot water and heat I could not reach my landlord, looked up the agency up online, and found out it was a lawyers office, called them complained, all of a sudden my landlord pops up within the hour.

So while he is here I am telling him what has happened. he tells me oh they said they were stealing gas I say a lot of things, I even told him who did it(because they also told me that). He still doesn't believe me, after I told him what the gas company said, showed him the police report etc.

Now when i moved in he came over one day and said someone said you had people running up and down the stairs, if it happens again I will evict you.

But now he wont even go speak to them about stealing my gas.
He said there is nothing that he can do(evict them or something duh).
Then he removes the red tags, and leaves so once again i am without heat or hot water.

Landlord tenant association says I can not break my lease, but i called my councilman and was told that I can break my lease because he already broke it when he didnt fix the heater or hot water tank.

I have a 4 room apartment, my gas bills have been 80.17, 90.16, and 80.52, my gas bill this month is 245.48.

Landlord wont evict them or talk to them
Dominion refuses to credit me
and I have no money for a lawyer or to pay that much for my gas bill.

Please if anyone has any advice or someone I can get i contact with for help I would really appreciate it.

[Poltracker]

1) Call the health department or building inspectors department in the city you live in. Show them your evidence (make a copy, do not give the original). They will probably condemn until the problem is fixed. This will mean the place is unfit to live in and you have a good reason to break lease.
2) Notify your LL in writing make a copy and mail CRRR and demand that the situation be repaired immediately.

All of these issues deal with safety and livibility. Check your state laws. Most states allow you to move out on this basis if it is not repaired in a timely fashion.

[jdm2008]

Originally Posted by danni728

I moved into a 4 unit house in October 2009, from the start the downstairs door was broken, when shut you could not get it back open without force.

On January 13 at around 11 pm our house got really cold, none of my gas appliances were working. I called Dominion and the were here in about a hour and 25 minutes.
Someone stole the gas meters and the gas was leaking out of my house. He also said that someone in the unit was stealing my gas.

After fixing the meter they red tagged all hot water tanks in the building and red tagged my heater because Co was coming through, the spillage switch was bypassed, spillage from hood, and defective controls.

He put a lock on the all of the meters except for my unit and the other upstairs unit.

The next morning I was talking to my downstairs neighbor and telling her what was going on. Her husband came out and I told him the situation minus someone stealing my gas.

His exact words were, Man I told Br*** not to F with my meters, we are stealing gas, we have kids down here and I can not even call the gas company because we have everything rigged down there.

when I was talking to them the 2 other meters were still locked.
Later that night I went down just to check and they broke the meter.
Now they have access to the basement but I dont.

I ended up calling the police, the gas company came out, took pictures, and the gas company supervisor came out.

I called the police and made a police report.

These whole two days with no hot water and heat I could not reach my landlord, looked up the agency up online, and found out it was a lawyers office, called them complained, all of a sudden my landlord pops up within the hour.

So while he is here I am telling him what has happened. he tells me oh they said they were stealing gas I say a lot of things, I even told him who did it(because they also told me that). He still doesn't believe me, after I told him what the gas company said, showed him the police report etc.

Now when i moved in he came over one day and said someone said you had people running up and down the stairs, if it happens again I will evict you.

But now he wont even go speak to them about stealing my gas.
He said there is nothing that he can do(evict them or something duh).
Then he removes the red tags, and leaves so once again i am without heat or hot water.

Landlord tenant association says I can not break my lease, but i called my councilman and was told that I can break my lease because he already broke it when he didnt fix the heater or hot water tank.

I have a 4 room apartment, my gas bills have been 80.17, 90.16, and 80.52, my gas bill this month is 245.48.

Landlord wont evict them or talk to them
Dominion refuses to credit me
and I have no money for a lawyer or to pay that much for my gas bill.

Please if anyone has any advice or someone I can get i contact with for help I would really appreciate it.

What does the police report say? Were your neighbors arrested?

[danni728]

The police said the landlord/me have to press charges, the could say who didnt on the police report but they did say put down that that is what they told me to my face.

I called the inspector and was told that someone would be out on 1.13.2010 but they never came out.

I just called my landlord and told him I am moving out, he said, write me a 30 day notice and be gone, I dont care.

I mean at least I can get out of my lease but the whole money issue, I can not afford to pay that.

Thank You for all your advice, i will start making some more phone calls in the morning.

[jdm2008]

Originally Posted by danni728

The police said the landlord/me have to press charges, the could say who didnt on the police report but they did say put down that that is what they told me to my face.

I called the inspector and was told that someone would be out on 1.13.2010 but they never came out.

I just called my landlord and told him I am moving out, he said, write me a 30 day notice and be gone, I dont care.

I mean at least I can get out of my lease but the whole money issue, I can not afford to pay that.

Thank You for all your advice, i will start making some more phone calls in the morning.

Make sure the landlord releases you from the lease in writing, not just the 30 days.

[JS1]

File charges against the thief ASAP! It shouldn't cost anything (maybe a filing fee) and you will be awarded damages which you can use to pay the gas bill.

The gas company won't (and shouldn't have to) take the loss on this theft. The thieves should pay. MAKE THEM PAY.

Let us know the outcome! I hate thieves and I want to see them pay up or maybe even go to jail for theft!

[NY Annie]

You absolutely have to file charges with the police dept for theft. Next, contact the state/city/county Bar Association's Lawyer Referral Service to get at minimum a 1/2 hour consultation either free or sliding scale. Contact Legal Aid in your area to make sure you are protecting your rights (re the landlord and you moving out) and concerning your gas bill. You may have a chance to get a return of some of your rent due to the landlord's negligence - and perhaps even recoup some moving expenses. At worst, you won't get anything, at best, who knows? The concept of equity (in law) can sometimes get surprising results. It does sound as though your landlord knows of and condones the theft of gas.

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by danni728

The police said the landlord/me have to press charges, the could say who didnt on the police report but they did say put down that that is what they told me to my face.

I called the inspector and was told that someone would be out on 1.13.2010 but they never came out.

I just called my landlord and told him I am moving out, he said, write me a 30 day notice and be gone, I dont care.

I mean at least I can get out of my lease but the whole money issue, I can not afford to pay that.

Thank You for all your advice, i will start making some more phone calls in the morning.

First and foremost is the safety of your family... Natural Gas is nothing to fool around with... entire buildings can be leveled from the blast should it accumulate and be ignited and neighboring structures also damaged...

No Heat, No Hot Water are habitability issues... GAS DIVERTED FROM YOUR METER IS A DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN.

Keep the documents you have and get out... I can't imagine ANY Judge siding with the Landlord should you be sued... it may not be the Landlords fault... but it is certainly NOT YOURS...

I don't even know if I would sue someone for $150... just being practical.

If the Landlord makes trouble for you... I would counter sue and ask for the excess gas charge because the GAS PIPING IN HIS BUILDING IS DEFECTIVE... and it wasn't an act of God... if you get my drift.

[Lacerta]

Several things

For the gas bill, you have a few choices

1. Press charges, and see if you can get the guilty party to pay the gas bill.

2. Pay the bill

3. Have a collection put on your credit report

4. Personally, I would call up the gas company, explain what happened, have them check with the guy who came out for confirmation, since he is the one who told you someone is stealing your gas, and see if they won't reduce your bill. They might not, but it doesn't hurt to ask. Don't take the first "no", ask for a supervisor. Be persistant, but be nice. Being confrontational won't get you anywhere.


So, at this point, the gas company has fixed your meter, but because they found problems, you don't have use of your heater and no one in the building has use of their hot water tanks? Why isn't everyone complaining up a storm? If it is just yours, why doesn't yours work and everyone else's does? The meter has been fixed at this point, hasn't it?

I do agree with some of the others. I would be most concerned that the next time someone does this, they could blow up the building. I can't believe the LL didn't totally freak out over this.

On the downside for you, a LL who acts this way is going to be a problem to get deposit back from, especially since you are breaking the lease. (Look up procedure for your state on the right way to deal with this) Expect to have to go to small claims court to get your deposit back too. Might as well ask for reimbursement on the gas bill and maybe even moving expenses at the same time. Worst that can happen is the judge will turn you down. Keep all your documentation on this problem for use in court.