Just thinking about Chicago in the winter can send chills up and down anyone’s spine.
As the wind chill and temperature outside plunge, many people rely on the refuge of a warm apartment to spare them from the biting winds and the blowing snow. Well, that’s what Samantha Perez thought until she found herself without heat in her apartment one below-zero day last December.
Perez is one of many apartment dwellers who learned the cold, hard facts about heat and apartments: what you don’t know before committing to a lease can make the difference between being happily nestled inside your apartment or sitting in your place miserably bundled up in a coat, shivering from an inclement temperature.
To ensure indoor warmth during the winter, there are two things you need to know before renting an apartment: who pays for and who controls the heat.
“Heat included” and “heat additional” are advertisements that apartment-seekers will often encounter. “Heat included” means the landlord pays for the heat; “heat additional” means you pay either the local gas or electric company for the heat you use.
“It’s important to know the type of heat available in the apartment and the payment policy to determine that it’s within your budget and what you’ll be comfortable with,” says Ilene Collins, director of operations for The Apartment People, a Chicago-based rental service.
There are three main types of heat used in most Chicago and suburban apartment communities: electric, forced-air and radiator. Electric heat is normally supplied through a baseboard vent and regulated by a thermostat at each baseboard. Forced-air heating is derived from a gas-fired furnace, usually in the basement, with one central thermostat. Radiator heat, or hot water heat, originates from a main boiler system.
High-rise, modern, remodeled and rehabbed apartment buildings typically have gas or electric heating systems and the apartments can be either “heat additional” or “heat included”; vintage properties usually have radiator heat and the majority include heat in the rent. A renter’s preference for living in a vintage apartment versus renting a modern one will narrow down apartment choices; the heating option, however, is one way for landlords to sway would-be renters toward signing a lease.
“Rental services and apartment owners use `heat included’ as an attraction in advertisements; it’s a bigger draw than `heat additional’,” says Collins.
A recent survey conducted at The Apartment People in Chicago revealed just how popular the feature is to apartment seekers. Out of 95 respondents, 83 said they prefer an apartment with heat included in the rent.
On the other hand, 76 out of 95 respondents said if they found an apartment they really liked, but had to pay for heat, they still would rent the apartment. Most said they would pay extra for heat if the combined rent and heating cost fell within a reasonable range of their budgets and if the desired amenities were there.
It seems simple enough: to pay or not to pay–and who wouldn’t want “free” heat? But “free” heat may come blanketed with another layer of meaning: if it’s “free,” do you control the temperature and amount of heat you want or does the landlord?
“When heat’s included in the rent, many management companies tend to give the minimal amount of heat required by city or village ordinances,” says Jill Chatterton, director of operations of Cagan Management Group, which manages 172 vintage and modern apartment buildings throughout the Chicago area.
In Chicago, for instance, the city’s heat ordinance is in effect from Sept. 15 to June 1. During that time, landlords must maintain the following temperatures: 65 degrees from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 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.
“That’s still not warm enough for me,” says one Chicago renter whose landlord controls the heat. “I sit in my apartment freezing; it’s so uncomfortable. The next time I rent an apartment, I’ll pay for heat, so I can control it.”
Room temperature and comfort level is a personal preference: some like it hot; some like it cool.
When asked if the landlord should control the heat, all Apartment People survey participants answered with a resounding “no.” They cited their comfort level might be different than the landlord’s, so paying extra for heat seemed a small price to pay to feel at ease at home. “People prefer to control the heat themselves; they’re afraid the landlord might not put the temperature high enough or have the heat on too high,” explains Collins.
Annie Properties Inc., which owns and manages 13 loft buildings in Chicago, has its renters pay for heat. “Even though people look favorably on `heat included,’ they don’t want to be at the mercy of the landlord,” says Anne Neri Kostiner, chief operating officer of Annie Properties. “Paying for and controlling the heat is more important to their comfort.”
Although “heat included” more often than not means you don’t control the heat, the Granada Centre Apartments, a modern high-rise in Chicago’s Rogers Park area, offers its residents the best of both worlds: the ability to control the heat and heat included in the rent, which ranges from $800 to $840 for a one-bedroom unit.
Green Oaks, a rehabbed apartment building in Palos Hills, which rents a one-bedroom unit for $590, also offers its residents free, controllable heat, a popular incentive that draws renters to the community.
Perez felt lured into a frosty predicament when her previous landlord suddenly turned off the heat one frigid December day to avoid a high heating bill. After that chilling experience, Samantha vowed to seize control of the heat in her next apartment–not by gauging the thermostat, but by learning if the property owner has a checkered past, as this one did, before signing a lease.
Perez and her husband, Victor, researched building owners through the local city hall and utility board; now, they live contentedly in a warm, two-flat apartment in Chicago’s Ravenswood area, renting for $800 a month, with radiator heat included.
“We have a good landlord who responds when we need more heat. Researching management companies is so important,” says Samantha.
Before signing a lease, industry experts also offer a few tips to help choose the perfect heat option for you:
– When apartment hunting during the spring or in a sweltering summer heat wave, don’t forget to ask about the winter heat policy.
– Call the local electric or gas company for an estimate of last year’s heating cost in a particular unit you’re interested in. If the apartment is governed by Chicago’s Landlord and Tenanant Ordinance, the prospective landlord must provide to you, in writing, the average projected monthly cost of the utilities during the most recent annual period when the apartment was occupied. That information may be provided either by the landlord directly or by the utility company providing the primary source of heating fuel, based upon a request from the landlord.
– Check to see whether the apartment has storm windows. Do the windows close tightly or is there a chance of wind and cold seeping in and heat seeping out?
– Ask current residents how the landlord handles heat. Responds quickly? Lackadaisical? Because of possible legal penalties from not maintaining required heat levels, good management will abide by the rules, adds Chatterton. “Don’t settle for anything less.”
In deciding which was more important to them–comfort, control or price–the Perezes managed to wrap everything up into one cozy apartment, a haven from the brutal elements outside.
Jokes Samantha, “Now, if I could only control the temperature outside.”
If you’re receiving insufficient or no heat, contact your local city hall or civic office; in Chicago, call 312-744-5000. The TTY number for Chicago residents who are deaf or hard of hearing is 312-744-8599.
