No heat for a month (landlord is supposed to pay) (Philadelphia: leasing, how much)

[BowDiddly]

The landlord is supposed to pay for heating but has kept it off for a month. It gets damn cold!! (<--those are frozen tears!) They keep saying there is a problem and they are working on it but they don't offer any help or remediation.

I know they're in violation of the "warranty of habitability" and I'm entitled to a rent reduction but I have no idea how much? the whole rent during this time or just a portion of it? How big or little of a portion?

Any ideas, or any suggestions for where I could go to find out?

Thanks in advance!

[Nbbphh]

I'd be interested in the responses to this - I had the exact same problem with a particular landlord in Philly - what part of the city are you in? I wonder if it is the same leasing company.

I don't know the ultimate answer to your questions, but I do know that the first step is going to be documentation - start sending letters to your landlord (and keep copies for yourself), so you have a paper trail of what's happening. You'll need this documentation for any kind of legal disputes down the line, and sometimes this act alone is enough to get things moving.

[Clark Park]

I am a landlord, and I think not providing heat for tenants is an evil and contemptible thing. I always provide heat, but then again I live in the same building as my tenants.

In the meantime, do you have a portable room heater? Pleae don't turn on your oven = that can be a real fire hazard/

[ant1024]

If it were me I wouldn't pay any rent until they fixed the heat, like is said just document that you are not paying until the heat is fixed, that is not only evil but its unethical. The judge will see it your way if it ever comes to that, which I doubt it will, the landlord will have no shot at winning if they are not providing heat in this weather.

[FBJ]

The heat in my apt is INCONSISTENT because I don't pay either.

It's either on LOW or on really HIGH at night that forces me to open the window to give my room of balance of cold and hot air


But I haven't experience no heat at all

[ApartmentNomad]

Have you documented your requests for heat? That's the first step. If you have no paper trail so far, send a certified letter to your landlord stating the situation. Then contact L&I. I had to do this at times when I was living in Philadelphia, and I found L&I surprisingly responsive. (I did work for the city and made sure to give them my work number, so they could guess that I worked for the city. Whether that made any difference or not, I don't know.)

However, I've always been leery about withholding some of my rent, or that sort of thing. That can get complicated. I would look for legal advice on that from a tenants rights group. If you don't do it correctly, I think you could be stuck owing money.