For many renters, coming home to a warm and cozy apartment on a cold winter’s day is one of life’s great pleasures. But for some, arriving home means a cold or underheated apartment and the beginning of a frustrating attempt to get the temperature back up to appropriate levels.
But experts say that knowing the proper way to put the heat on landlords and building management can make that process a bit less daunting, even on the coldest of winter nights.
If you live in a Chicago apartment building, law mandates that the temperatures be at least 68 degrees from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. The temperature should not fall below 63 degrees in the overnight hours from 10:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. And from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. temperatures must reach at least 65 degrees.
If those temperatures aren’t being maintained, you should telephone and write your landlord or building management company, says John Bartlett, tenant rights hotline coordinator with the Metropolitan Tenants Organization in Chicago.
“The law provides that once you’ve written and mailed the letter, you can go out and buy space heaters or blankets and deduct that cost from your next month’s rent,” he says. “The law also provides that you can stay elsewhere–with friends or relatives, for example–and not pay rent for the days you’re without heat.”
(It’s necessary, of course, to follow the letter of the law when seeking restitution for heating-related expenses. If you have questions about the heating regulations, call the Metropolitan Tenants Organization hotline at 773-292-4988.)
Bartlett further urges tenants with heating problems to keep a daily diary detailing how uninhabitable their apartments become. “They should have a thermometer so they can verify that (the owner) is not providing the minimum heat,” he says.
If the landlord or management company promises to restore the heat, one 24-hour period is sufficient time to determine whether they intend to make good on the vow, says Kathleen Walsh, public information officer with the Chicago Department of Buildings. If the heat hasn’t reached at least the minimum level after 24 hours, and there appears to be no good faith effort to correct a system-wide problem, call the city’s heating hotline at 312-744-5000.
“The city will send out a building inspector, who will take the temperature in the building’s units, starting with the apartment of the person making the complaint,” says Walsh.
If there is heat, but not enough to meet minimum levels, the landlord will be cited for inadequate heat, and will have to endure a hearing at the city’s code enforcement bureau and, most likely, a fine.
“If there’s no heat at all, the city’s law department files a case against the owner, and it proceeds directly to housing court,” says Walsh. “In the worst case scenario, a heat receiver will be assigned to pay any outstanding bills so the heat can be turned back on.”
Calling the heating hotline can also get tenants a referral to the city’s Department of Human Services, which can in turn refer them to warming shelters and other means of temporary assistance, Walsh adds.
In the suburbs, Evanston and Oak Park both have ordinances that help protect renters from a heat shortfall. In Evanston, for example, law mandates that the temperature in apartments be at least 65 degrees from 6 to 8 a.m., 68 degrees from 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., and 60 degrees at all other times. Tenants are again urged to deal first with their landlords before calling the City of Evanston.
If such a call is required, it’s deemed an emergency and inspectors respond immediately, says Eugene Wharton, supervisor with Evanston’s community development property standards division.
“If the apartment turns out to be, say, 65 degrees when it should be 68, we write out a violation notice to the owner, then come back within a day or two to make sure the heat has been brought up to at least minimum levels.”
If the unit has no heat, Wharton or a staff member hands the owner a 24-hour violation notice, mandating correction within a day. Failure to respond results in a court date being set by the city’s legal department. But in 99 percent of cases, he says, owners comply with the notice.
In cases of no heat, Wharton and his staff have authority to relocate tenants to one of several hotels in Evanston. “We later seek reimbursement from the owner for the funds we expended in relocating the tenants,” he adds.
In Oak Park, where the temperature in apartments must be at least 70 degrees from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. and 65 degrees from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., renters concerned about inadequate heat are encouraged to keep thermometers in their apartments. If levels don’t meet the minimum standards, they’re urged to let their landlords know of the problem.
“If (landlords) don’t respond within a reasonable time, usually the same day, (renters) should give us a call,” says Village of Oak Park senior housing inspector Pat Murphy. “We’ll then call the landlord, and most of our multi-family owners are very good and very responsive. We have a good rapport with them.”
If the village doesn’t hear back from the landlord, housing inspectors can place heat recorders in the units to graphically record heat levels over a 24- to 48-hour period. “That helps in court, where we can show that the heat wasn’t sufficient,” says Murphy. “And we can fine them up to $500 a day, for the days they’re in violation.”
In other municipalities, follow the same basic rules of contacting landlords: Give them 24 to 48 hours to correct the situation, and then call the city or village. “A lot of suburbs in Cook County have their own health departments, and housing will usually be the responsibility of either the code enforcement division or the health department,” explains Mary Passaglia, environmental health supervisor with the Village of Schaumburg.
“Usually a caller can just tell the operator, `I have no heat,’ and she will know where to route the call.”
Passaglia adds that it’s vital renters not wait too long before making the call to their municipality. “They should expect the problem to be corrected within 24 to 48 hours after the call to the landlord,” she says. “In cold weather, people should not be without heat.”
OTHER COLD WEATHER DUTIES
Keeping the heat on is just one of several responsibilities of landlords and management companies during colder months.
In Chicago, for example, landlords are required to furnish carbon monoxide detectors in units with fan-forced gas heat, says John Bartlett of the Metropolitan Tenants Organization. The detectors are not required, he adds, in apartments that have electric heat or radiators.
While no law specifically mandates the shoveling of sidewalks or plowing of parking lots by landlords or management companies, it’s still their responsibility to handle those chores, says Bartlett. “That’s because it’s their responsibility to take care of common areas in multi-family buildings.”
Chicago public information officer Kathleen Walsh adds that snow plowing and shoveling are implied under laws requiring that owners keep their residential buildings in good shape. “They should know the building code and what they’re required to do under it,” she says.
Evanston requires owners to remove snow from sidewalks, stairs and parking lots, while Oak Park requires snow removal from sidewalks and stairs. “Generally, if they’re shoveling snow from sidewalks, they will also plow their parking lots,” says Pat Murphy, Oak Park senior housing inspector. “It’s in their own best interests to do that.”
Neither of the two communities requires carbon monoxide detectors, says Wharton and Murphy.
