Need Advice Landlord/Boiler Situation

[Shura]

WELL, Redcatcher... time to turn the good ol boy into a shark. Remember what you learned in property about landlord-tenant stuff

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
And thus you avoid the legal vs moral choice of dealing with repairs that he does not want to make.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
Okay, so there is no WRITTEN lease, but there is an implied one in that you have rented from him for four YEARS.

If I understand (and boilers and that kind of heating system is pretty foreign to me), you are already paying fuel costs for heat that you are not receiving because the system is broken--most of the heat literally goes up the chimney. He wants you to set the thermostat HIGHER than you want (WHY???) and pay MORE in fuel costs, and is offended that you want to keep it at the setting you prefer with lowered fuel costs. Really baffling to me--what does it matter to him how you set your thermostat? and why does he want to generate more heat up the chimney?

He is not doing the moral "right" by you, and certainly not the legal right.

You really need to sit down and look through your history and verify that all owed rent and bills are paid. How he chooses to spend his money is purely his own choice, but he has legal obligations to provide you with at least minimal services. As a lawyer you should know your state law. What is he required to provide? Does he? If you know you have slow business and income at certain times of the year, you really should pay your rent forward so that your lower income is already covered from your more provident months.

 

[WingingIt]

If you already know from experience that he skimps on repairs and needed upkeep and he wants you out, anyway, why not just look for another place now? I agree that it's his responsibility to fix things and there's no way you should be paying for the repairs (unless it was something you broke, but that's not the case), but if he's made it clear that he's not going to, I'd save the hassle, time and relationship and go ahead and find another place. Heck, just mentioning that may help him see that what he's doing isn't right and that will certainly cut down on the money he has every month to put into the renovations, so maybe he'll cooperate. Good luck.

 

[averytds]

If I'm understanding correctly, there are 2 heating systems or boilers. One in your half that's on it's last leg and failing fast and one in his half that's presumably working fine. Rather than replace the broiler system in your half he wants to extend the pipes from his side to yours so both halves will share a system. He'll do all the plumbing work, but he wants you to pay $1000 for your portion of the fuel.


You don't feel you will use $1000 worth of fuel and regardless, you don't want to or can't pay upfront.



What he's proposing sounds no different to me than rental properties where utilities are included. Except in those situations rather than a lump sum amount, the rent is higher to compensate for the expected utility use. Stupid move for a landlord, at least IME. Too risky, especially with today's price swings.


You could propose a lesser amount based off your more usual fuel consumption. Offer as payments or a rental increase. Since you're already planning your move, which could be part of why he doesn't want to install a whole new unit in your half, you could say to heck with it and go with electric heaters or a window heating unit. He may also decide to heck with it and provide you with an electric unit.

Something to keep in mind, were it to go to court, I would expect you would both end up spending more than the $1000 and you would still be out more $ either for heating fuel or electricity.


*************

Just re-read and saw that you had offered weekly payments. I do think that's fair and would be a good route if you both can agree on the amount. The utility company could help you with avg usage amounts. Did he say why he didn't want to except payments? Is there some compelling reason that you two could compromise on? How much are you paying now for fuel?

Honestly, I would probably go the electric route (I'm assuming here you are responsible for your electric usage) since you like it on the cooler side and go with a portable system. There are package window AC/Heat units. I know a lot of people that heat entirely with one or two electric fireplaces. Get something you can take them with you when you move and either use in your new place or sell.

 

[Redcatcher]

Excellent advice, everyone. If it were purely legal, it would have been more cut and dried I think. At this point, I am considering withholding all or part of the rent. As I write, there is a work truck parked in the driveway and he is discussing work that is going to be done on his side of the house. And no, it is definitely not a boiler repair man. My rent is being used to renovate the house, not to repair or replace the boiler. From what I understand, the boiler cannot be repaired. There is too much corrosion inside from the hard water. What I could do is hire my own guy to come in and look at it and see what he says.