It’s your first college apartment. You and your roommates have a living room, a bedroom, freedom from the dorm, and…a landlord. At first you’re thrilled. After all, if something goes wrong, there he or she will be, with a plunger and a key. Right?
Sometimes, though, it’s not easy to tell if you should call the landlord, or fix it yourself. And if you call too often for too meager a task, your super might not be so super helpful anymore.
Here, we’ll offer some common scenarios and advice.
This week’s problem? Heat.
Scenario #1: The shower is streaming only cold water, and how uncomfortable is that when you’re trying to wash your hair? –This call? Landlord. It means that your hot water heater is on the fritz and may need to be replaced.
Scenario #2: You have hot water, but you don’t have heat. It might be freezing cold, or it might just be colder than you’d like to be. –This one’s landlord’s too. A genuine problem with the heat is not the tenant’s responsibility. And NEVER try to fix a problem with a heater—electric, steam, or otherwise—by yourself.
Now, we have to tell you some realities that aren’t so great, either. It could be your landlord is a super nice guy or gal and eager to fix your heat. However, in certain areas (like New York City), landlords are not required to turn on the heat before certain dates (like October 15). If you are in an area where this is the case, and it’s 45 degrees on October 12 and you’re cold…your landlord may feel this can be fixed by a sweater. And sometimes, if landlords control the heat, they may not think it needs to be as warm as you do, even in the dead of winter.
Bottom line? If heat isn’t working at all, call the landlord. If it’s 72 and you’d rather be sitting at 77, you might have to buy that sweater.
Equal Housing Opportunity
