Heat Laws

[drkman]

Originally Posted by 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

That is a big difference. Who is your gas supplier? I know in Brooklyn, Keyspan is the gas supplier and they bill every 2 months. Is your bill monthly or bi-monthly?

[JohnnyR]

Drkman,

Yes, it is Keyspan, and my 62 day bill is $415.

RJ

[drkman]

Whoaaaaa, heat is definitely involved in that because for cooking only, gas should be less than $60.00 for 2 months, and generally a lot less than that. I am at a loss though on what advice to give. If you are paying for heat, you really should have control over the heat. Maybe you should talk to your landlord about that so that, at the least, you have some control over what you will be spending and not at the whim of what the landlord decides they want the heat to be. You can also try calling 311 and explaining the situation. They may be able to direct you to some good resources for this situation. It does not sound like it is totally legal since you have no control over the heat but they can probably give you a definitive answer regarding that. Best of luck.

[UpstaterInBklyn]

So, the majority of a huge gas bill is going towards hot water - which is powering the heat.

I think there is some confusion here.

Rest assured that the hot water that you are using for showers and dishes is not the same hot water flowing through your heating system. Hot water heating systems are closed and recirculate the same water. Also, the temperature of water coming out the tap is much, lower than the water in heating system, which is very close to boiling hot.

Since you are paying a bill to Keyspan, you must have your own gas meter, which is probably connected to your own boiler. You could find your meter, which is probably outside the building, then take a trip down to the basement, find your gas meter, and see where the gas pipe leads. You can find the meter number on your bill.

Assuming you have your own boiler, the fact that you don't have a thermostat in your apartment is a problem that your landlord would be obligated to fix.

The amount of your bill seems fairly normal. The last bill for our 700 square foot place was $404.00.

You probably don't pay for hot water because it is a shared resource with other tenants or there is a gas line feeding the hot water heater(s) that is not separately metered.

I would assume that the circumstances under which the landlord would pay the heat would be dictated by the setup of the heating system. It is never in a landlord's financial interest to pay for heat, but I think that heat would be included in buildings with a central heating unit that is shared by the tenants. When there is a central source of heat for all tenants in the building, controlled by the landlord, then certain laws have to be enforced.

[SeventhFloor]

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?

are you sure that the LL doesnt have an electric hot water heater installed? in that case the gas would be powering the boiler, and electricity would be powering the HWH. otherwise i dont understand the situation...