does a landlord have to supply working heat?

Question

I live in calif the house I rent has no working heat it gets very cold her does the landlord have to supply working heat & can he raise my rent to fix it he says he cant afford it.

Answer 1

When you pay rent you are in affect purchasing license to peaceful enjoyment of the premises for the term paid for. The premises must be habitable, meaning that while the landlord may not be responsible for the gas and or electricity used for heating. The heating systems must be operable, adequate, and safe. Some lease / rental agreements include those utilities but most do not. In any case the heating system must work regardless of its energy source. For example if the home is heated with natural gas and you fail to pay the bill and it gets shut off, you could be causing damage to the residence and would be in violation. In your case the reversal holds true. You cannot refuse to pay rent because of the heat issue, but he is responsible for insuring your heating system is working. Whether he can afford to fix it is not legal grounds for him to not have it repaired. You might ask an attorney for a legal opinion.

Answer 2

1970 mopstar is right that should be detailed in your contract. however living here ion england in rented accomodation the landlord has an obligation to fix the heating, but it is my responsibility to pay for the fuel i use.

so parts and labour to fix the problem are the landlords responsibility and this maintence should already be calculated as part of your rent, if it is not then see if you can reach a compromise with your landlord to split the cost 70 30 in your favour (you paying only 30% costs) it has to be better than raising your rent. or may be raise the rent for a set period of time to cover the repairs dropping back down the minute the repairs are completed.

but seriously check your legal rights with a local legal pofessional.
they may be different in your area and your landlord MUST fix any and all repairs regardless of cost.
remeber your rent may not be calculated with building maintenence included. So in such a case a compromise may be a better bet than legal action especially if your landlord says he can not afford it.

you could say to your landlord look i need the heating fixed, i'm getting a contractor in to do the work and the money that would normally go on rent will be used to pay the contractor instead. you getthe contractor to send a copy of the invoice to your landlord and you get and keep a copy. afterall you are not refusing to pay rent you are meerly using the rent for what your landlord should by fixing the heating.

good luck and until you get the heating fixed stay warm and keep well.

Answer 3

It's his job as your landlord to make sure your apartment is livable. You are aloud to take the amount it cost to fix it out of your rent and fix it yourself. Although he might sue you for holding rent and you'd have to prove it in court, i don't know. But as a landlord he should provide working heat.

Answer 4

He absolutely must provide heat, and if you have a lease, he may NOT raise your rent to fix it. If you are moth to month, he can raise it with 30 days notice (but you can also move with 30 days notice)

Answer 5

Yes, heat, hot water, one working phone jack, water, electric, those are basic habitability issues and the landlord is required to provide it.

Answer 6

yes he has to make the home inhabitable..unfortunately some landlord's do raise the rent to cover the cost of heater instalation....

Answer 7

The cheap bas#%$#$@#!!!

You can get a good room heater for $40.00 at Home Depot... get the furnace kind filled with water and try to have your landlord pay for it!! If not, then half!! The cheap bas#@#!#@#!!

Note, the other room heaters look like fire hazards to me.

Answer 8

yes he must supply heat , no but he can up the in a diff. way go check landlord rental act, i nyour cont

Answer 9

read your contract