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Old 12-11-2013, 12:27 PM
 
177 posts, read 406,490 times
Reputation: 339

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Hi all,
We are renting a house and my landlord just told me to make sure I get the furnace cleaned for this heating season. There is nothing in my lease about this... Is this something that tenants typically pay for, or are the landlords supposed to do this?

We already do our own lawn care and shoveling, and we pay for all utilities including water and heat.

Last edited by jeneric13; 12-11-2013 at 12:44 PM..
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Old 12-11-2013, 12:50 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
16,787 posts, read 48,822,728 times
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I consider that maintenance that I as a landlord pay for, although I'm not sure what he means by cleaning a furnace. I have my HVAC guy check the heating system at the beginning of the heating season and the AC in the spring. The later does require some cleaning of the exterior condenser and occasionally cleaning of the cooling coils in the air handler.

Unless your lease says tenant is responsible for all routine maintenance of the property I can't see how this is your obligation.

Edit to add: I have no experience with oil heaters, they are uncommon in this area, all we have are electric, gas and propane, which are much cleaner.

Last edited by CptnRn; 12-11-2013 at 01:07 PM..
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Old 12-11-2013, 01:00 PM
 
Location: North Idaho
32,487 posts, read 47,425,133 times
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It depends. What type of heat? If it is oil heat, then yes, you pay to have the oil delivery company come out and clean the filters and make sure all the jets are clean and open. Most oil delivery companies have a service contract with whoever is buying the oil.

If you let the oil run completely out, the service man has to come and get it restarted and you pay for that.

If it is electric heat, yes, it is your job to change the furnace filters to keep the heat running smoothly. I suggest that you also vacuum out any dust while you have the furnace open. Quite honestly, there is nothing to "service" on electric heat. The repairman is happy to charge you for a service call, but the heat is either working or it isn't. There is nothing to replace or repair before it breaks.

For gas heat, you change the filters. I would think that the landlord would pay for service calls, but it depends upon what your lease says.

You, the tenant, clean up any dirt caused by your living there. That means you are responsible for cleaning filters and screens. The landlord pays for repairs when the heat breaks.
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Old 12-11-2013, 01:31 PM
 
177 posts, read 406,490 times
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Ok, thank you for that information. We are coming from a house with natural gas to oil heating, which I am unfamiliar with.
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Old 12-30-2013, 08:02 AM
 
10,746 posts, read 25,864,417 times
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If you're responsible to fill it with oil, then you're responsible for having it checked out. Normally, the oil company won't just come and fill it without checking it out first. At least companies I dealt with up north had that policy.
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Old 12-31-2013, 02:47 PM
 
66 posts, read 148,900 times
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When I rented and had oil heat, the oil company never had any type of maintenance program they offered me. I lived at the place for 6 years and every single year like clockwork one of the nozzles would clog or go bad and the landlord paid her handyman to come and replace it. Of course, keep in mind that this was a mobile home on a foundation that was like a 1970s something model, and to be honest nobody really wanted to touch such an old furnace except this handyman that the landlord knew.
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Old 12-31-2013, 07:40 PM
 
9,863 posts, read 13,984,826 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kim in FL View Post
If you're responsible to fill it with oil, then you're responsible for having it checked out. Normally, the oil company won't just come and fill it without checking it out first. At least companies I dealt with up north had that policy.
The oil company I have has never been concerned with the system being "checked out". They just come and fill the tank.
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Old 01-01-2014, 04:07 AM
 
10,746 posts, read 25,864,417 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by spencgr View Post
The oil company I have has never been concerned with the system being "checked out". They just come and fill the tank.

Well, that's YOUR company, not one company in the county I was in would just 'come and fill it up' without giving a yrly once over.
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