Is it the landlord's responsibility to weatherize the home?

Question

I am a renter, my gas bill is over $1,000 and it is because my landlord did not cover the swamp cooler or close the opening to it. I didn't even know this until a few weeks ago. I had been trying to heat the home only to have all the heat escape from these openings. I mentioned the lack of heat to him before and he told me that because it's a big house it would take longer to fully heat. Is there anything I can do about this?

Answer 1

What does it say in your rental agreement that you SIGNED?

Answer 2

Usually the landlord is only legally responsible to keep the place habitable. That means that everything works and there are no obvious health hazards like infestations, shoddy wiring, etc.

Is there any reason you can't cover the swamp cooler or close the opening to it? Seems to me this is just routine stuff in living at a place, like mowing and watering the lawn. You don't ask the landlord to do those things, do you?

Answer 3

swamp cooler ??? do you mean a window air conditioner unit ?...if he has a heavy duty cover for it he should give it to you to put on....you are responsible for that.....you should know how to work the appliances in your home...i hope you are cleaning the filter in it once a month so it runs good in the summer.
if you have a working fireplace you also should make sure that the flue is closed on it also...Heat/AC is lost up it during the winter/summer when people use the fireplace and forget to close it after each use

Answer 4

No, your landlord is not responsible. He is responsible for your having access to heat and water and keeping the dwelling habitable, that is all.

Answer 5

YES