Our apartment manager is billed from the city for our utilities and then directly bills us for that amount. There was an extremely high bill of $600 last month and myself and my three roommates were billed for that amount. The city came out and read the meter and said that the meter was correct, however a city official also said that the thermostat in our apartment was broken. Our manager then purchased a new thermostat for us. We asked that some compromise be made on the bill, being as the broken thermostat was not our fault and we could not correctly regulate the thermostat because it was broken. Our manager is refusing to do this saying that it is our fault that the bill was so high because we incorrectly set the thermostat and is now saying that the thermostat was not defective. The manager claims he has spoken with the owner of the apartments and will not let us speak to the owner directly.How do we go about handling this dispute or filing a complaint?
2007-01-24 15:13:05 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
Is there a written contract between you and the apt owner/mgr? Does that agreement state that you will be responsible for all utilities and then a list of those? I'm sorry to say that I think you may get stuck simply because your manager wasn't notified that the thermostat might not be working right, didn't you notice a difference, is this a large older home?I know that mine is currently not operating correctly because of the heat flutuations, it's only set on 60, but you get cookin just sitting around, so I know it's broken. Payday will fix that, but in the meantime the thermostat is constantly having to be checked. It's also unfortunate that your manager doesn't have the authority to give you some slack on the bill, I would think you have some options regarding payment. It sounds like this is run through a property management, correct?If that is the case, I think a kind heart is the last emotion you're going to see, outside help will be needed. There should be financial help available through your community. Good luck.
2007-01-24 15:30:38 · answer #1 · answered by fisherwoman 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You may want to speak to an attorney or the local housing authority or tenany advocacy group. However, your landlord is only obliged to repair things he knows are broken - and he didn't know the thermostat was broken until after the bill was brought to his attention. It sounds like he promptly replaced the thermostat when he became aware of the problem.
Most leases are constructed such that a tenant has a burden to notify the landlord of defects. I gather this bill was a large increase over your normal bill, so even if the thermostat was broken, wouldn't the heat level have alerted someone that the thermostat wasn't properly regulating the temperature?
2007-01-24 18:00:29 · answer #2 · answered by njc_flhtc 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This biggest obstacle that you will face in this is if your landlord knew that your thermostat was broken before you received the bill or not. If they didn't know before hand, then they couldn't fix it for you so you did receive such a large bill.
You can try contacting your local housing authority and see if they can offer any suggestions for you.
Getting a lawyer may end up just being a lost cause for you and costing you more money than the actual utility bill though.
2007-01-24 15:32:57 · answer #3 · answered by photogrl262000 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The best advice is to consult an attorney. And sometimes simply a letter from an attorney can do wonders without having to actually go to court.
A lot will depend on what type of contract you have with the manager and how it is worded. And if the manager will not let you speak to the owner, you can easily go to your county or city registrar of deeds and obtain the name and address of the property owner and contact them on your own.
You can easily file a complaint. If you have an attorney, he will do this for you. If not, you can ask the court clerk of your county or city court and they will give you directions on how to proceed. Unfortunately, even if you went to court, you would probably still be responsible for the utility bill. You might be able to recover some type of damages from the landlord though.
I will reiterate though that it is best to consult an attorney.
2007-01-24 15:28:13 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
She fell in the present day and has already contacted an lawyer? "Threw her decrease back out" isn't a medical diagnosis. You state that the walkway has been like this for a at the same time as - so of direction your sister in regulation knew the circumstances existed and nonetheless took the threat into her hands to stroll on it. the topic matters you may have will be even if the incident would were prevented, what the regulations governing the eliminating of snow are on your area, or perhaps if she become by any ability at fault for her own injuries. as far as retribution - they could't evict you for the moves of your sister-in-regulation, yet in the adventure that they experience you're a criminal duty to them they could pick no longer to renew your lease at the same time as that is up. they is also on the seem out for any reason to evict you do you should violate even the smallest rule interior of your lease. i'm sorry to say that there is really no longer some thing you would possibly want to do about how they react to the problem. merely keep your nostril sparkling, pay your lease - and want for the most acceptable. in case you violate your lease i does no longer be shocked to finally end up transferring a lot earlier to you had anticipated.
2016-12-03 00:37:42 · answer #5 · answered by abigail 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Involve the police and lawyers and just start sewing them. Trust me on this! I made a million dollars just on sewing a buisness. That was worth it.
Hope that helps!
2007-01-24 15:19:06 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋