Bing Crosby may be crooning in “Bells of St. Mary’s” on television, but if your apartment lacks heat, even the most heart-warming flick is not going to ward off the chill.
“I’m angry. It’s very frustrating,” sighs Sondra Wince, who lives in a large studio apartment in Uptown. Last winter everything was fine, but over the summer Wince’s building was purchased by a new owner, who appears to be cutting corners by cutting back on heat to tenants.
Wince says her heat shuts off in the early evening (about 7:30 p.m) and often doesn’t kick on until noon the next day, causing the temperature to dip into the 50s.
Not a pleasant scenario to begin with, the situation grew worse after Thanksgiving when Wince’s 2-year-old daughter came down with chickenpox, followed by a bad cold. “I had to take her to the doctor three times during one week,” says Wince.
What can Wince and other tenants like her do to stop shivering? They can put the heat on their landlords-especially if they live in Chicago.
City protection
City renters have considerable protection under Chicago’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance. Formally known as Section 5-12-110 (f), the law went into effect Nov. 6, 1986, and defines heat as an essential service (along with plumbing, hot and cold running water, and electricity).
The ordinance applies to most renters within the city limits-the exception being in buildings of six or fewer units where the owner lives on the premises.
Ralph Scott, housing organizer at the Rogers Park Community Action Network, calls that exception a “political compromise” included in the city ordinance to placate small landlords. “But it only applies to a small number of buildings,” he says, estimating that more than 85 percent of city renters are protected under the city ordinance.
Because heat can be a subjective matter, the first thing to establish if you’re chilly is what the city officially considers too cold.
Chicago’s building code states that between Sept. 15 and June 1 the temperature in your apartment should be at least 65 degrees at 7:30 a.m.; 68 degrees from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.; and 63 degrees from 10:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m.
If the temperature in your apartment is above these numbers and you’re still shivering, then you need to buy a sweater. It’s not a legal problem, say housing experts.
But if your mercury keeps falling below the mandated minimums, your first move is to contact the landlord. Be businesslike, not hostile. If you get the cold shoulder or can’t reach him, or if his promises of more heat go unfulfilled, you have several alternatives.
Hotline for cold flats
Chicago tenants can call a 24-hour city hotline-744-5000-and a building inspector will visit your apartment. Here’s how it works: About 5:30 a.m. each weekday, someone from the building inspection department picks up the written complaints (which generally include all calls received up to 2 a.m. that morning). The complaints are divvied up according to districts. Inspectors handle 15 to 20 complaints per day, and the number of inspectors going out on rounds can vary from 30 to 90, depending on the particular day, says Estanislao Miranda, director of the building inspection department.
Yet there are landlords who are savvy at getting around city inspectors, say tenant advocacy authorities. Some are familiar with inspectors’ schedules and set heat to go back on just before inspectors arrive at the scene.
Some of this subterfuge may be curtailed under a new program initiated by the city. As of Dec. 21, the building inspection department contracted with community groups to hire heat monitors for after-hours inspections. This gives the building inspection team about 28 monitors to send out evenings and Saturdays.
If you live in a large building, talk to other tenants and urge them to call if they’re having problems, advises Tim Carpenter, executive director of the Metropolitan Tenants Organization in Chicago. “The more calls they (the city) get from an individual building, the more your building moves up on the priority list.”
Calling the city is just the first step in blowing the whistle on irresponsible landlords. If violations are found, the landlord is warned to correct the situation. If he doesn’t comply, the case could go to court.
The remedies
Still, the process takes time. For more immediate action, tenants are advised to put one of the following self-help remedies into play:
– Repair and deduct: If the landlord has not responded to a written notice, a tenant can make repairs on his own-be it insulating windows or fixing the boiler-and deduct these costs the next time rent is paid, providing receipts are presented.
– Withhold partial rent: If the landlord hasn’t responded to a written notice within 24 hours, the tenant can begin to hold back a portion of his rent, reflecting the reduced value of the apartment.
– Move out and seek substitute housing until the heating problem is corrected. Tenants are excused from paying rent to their landlord during this period and can take a landlord to court to recover the cost of the temporary housing.
– End the lease: Again, if the landlord doesn’t correct the problem within 72 hours after a written notice, the tenant can break the lease. Tenants have up to 30 days to move out or the lease goes back into effect.
– Sue the landlord for the amount of rent that reflects the reduced value of the apartment plus lawyer fees.
The last three remedies are more drastic-and take time, particularly if court action is involved.
Tenant advocacy groups recommend repair-and-deduct or withholding partial rent as more practical solutions. “The most effective tactic in getting repairs done is one that hurts the landlord financially,” says Doug Pensack, associate director of the Illinois Tenants Union.
“You don’t take the deduction until the next time rent is paid; still, the landlord knows the clock is ticking,” says Scott, referring to repair and deduct and withholding.
But-and this is a big but-there are certain procedures that must be followed in applying any of the above remedies.
Put it in writing
Whatever you plan to do, it’s crucial to give your landlord written notice. “If it’s not in writing, it doesn’t exist” is Pensack’s rule of thumb.
“A lot of people begin withholding rent after leaving a message on a tape machine. That’s not enough,” says George Hausen, staff attorney at the Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing in Chicago.
And not just any old note will do.
Be specific. State precisely what the problem is and what action you plan to take if the landlord does not correct the problem. (Many tenant groups-including the Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing and the Rogers Park Community Action Network-offer sample letters to be used as guidelines. “It’s not as complicated as it sounds,” says Scott.)
Make sure your letter makes it to the landlord. Hand-delivering it, accompanied by a witness, is best, say experts. If that’s not possible, send it by certified mail. Yet landlords don’t always pick up that mail, housing experts warn.
Keep temperature charts: Heat may not be adequate at all times or in all areas of the apartment. A favorite trick of miserly landlords is to turn down heat at night or shut it off completely. “It’s shaky ground just to say it was cold,” says Carpenter. “And if a number of tenants are taking those records, that’s even better. In essence, you’re serving as your own inspector.”
Anything you can do to document the situation is advisable, such as taking in witnesses who can later testify about the heat problem and your efforts to resolve the situation.
If you decide to seek substitute housing, be realistic, say experts. If you’re living in a studio in Rogers Park, you can’t move into a downtown penthouse.
Be conservative when withholding rent. If the landlord takes the tenant to court, the tenant is protected as long as he is able to prove he doesn’t owe the landlord money, says Hausen.
For example: Suppose the rent is $300 and the tenant pays only $250 because of lack of heat. In court, if the tenant can prove the apartment was really worth only $200, he can counterclaim for the other $50. But if it is ruled the apartment was worth $251, even $1 more than was paid in rent, then the tenant could be evicted and have to pay court costs as well. (Hausen suggests putting the money in an escrow account as another show of good faith on the part of the tenant.)
“I don’t want to scare anyone from using these remedies,” says Hausen, “but be conservative.”
Tenants, even ones who may be aware of their rights, often make mistakes in trying to execute them, experts say.
The most common mistake is when tenants withhold all of their rent, instead of a portion of it.
Take Theresa, in Rogers Park. Although she has complained to her landlord on several occasions, and a city inspector ruled the heating system is defective, the landlord has not corrected the situation. On Dec. 10, she sent her landlord a letter, saying if the heat wasn’t repaired in two weeks, she would repair it herself. The landlord threatened to evict her, because Theresa hadn’t paid any of her December rent.
“You don’t have carte blanche to withhold all your rent. You have to pay what it’s worth; that’s what the whole argument is about,” says Hausen.
In other apartment repairs, a tenant can deduct up to $500 or one-half a month’s rent-whichever is greater-however, there is no ceiling on the cost of heat repairs, says Hausen. Theoretically, a tenant can spend whatever it takes to procure the essential service.
Pensack of the Illinois Tenants Union urges tenants to seek specific directions to solve their heat problems. “The actual best advice will vary depending on a person’s circumstances,” he says.
“Retaliation is illegal, but it does happen,” says Pensack. Such retaliation usually takes the form of threats or eviction attempts.
Although the right to pay reduced rent for reduced services technically exists anywhere in Illinois, only Chicago, Evanston and Mt. Prospect have specific legislation protecting tenants. That leaves about 126 communities outside of Chicago in Cook County without specific provisions-where it is riskier to pay reduced rent, says Pensack.
What do you do if you live in one those 126 towns? Call your municipal authorities and ask who handles building inspection or enforces the housing code, Pensack suggests.
After giving her landlord written notice, Wince began using a space heater and tracking the increase in her electric bills and then deducting accordingly. During December, the first month she began withholding rent, Wince paid $230 in rent instead of the normal $275. So far, there has been no retaliation, says Wince, although she adds that the landlord has tried to evict other tenants who refused to pay any rent because of the heat problem.
Amy Jursich, a graphic artist who lives in Chicago’s Lake View community, opted to withhold partial rent after receiving no response from her landlord to letters complaining about inadequate heat. Jursich bought a space heater and is keeping track of increases in her electric bill. So far, she has had no protests from the landlord. “Still, it’s a hassle,” she says. “It’s a lot of paperwork I shouldn’t have to do.”
