I would like advice??

[fantasee2u]

I've tried looking for some answers all over the net seems like this forum is great for answers & solutions! Here's my problems I had electric base board heating for 31/2 months I kept getting these outrages electric bills. I would call my landlord each month a bill would come in explaining to him look I think something is wrong with the heating, you should bring someone in to determine the cause of these high electric bills. Instead of my landlord sending someone to fix the problem, I ended up calling my electric company. I explained how can my electric bill be so high when its never set to more than 70 and its on an energy saver. I then got transferred over to a Supervisor who pinged the meter he informed me that the electric consumed in my apartment was enough to heat a home in Beverly Hills & that my wph were triple what they should be. He told me that I should inform the landlord & explain to him that there was electric being drawn from somewhere other than the electric heating problem. Well after months of $600.00 or up to $913.78 electric bills they finally put in gas heating. But here's my question, being that my electric bills were outrages due to the electrical heating fault in the apartment is my landlord liable for paying me back any of the amounts. I called him about this months rent which is $650.00 a month & he told me that he just spent $3,800.00 on a new boiler & gas line & that there wasnt anything he can & wants his rent.
Please tell me is or should he be responsible for half of the electric bill & after all this should I have to pay him the rent due. Any advise would be great!!!!

 

[Michael Wechsler]

This is a real problem. Do you have a separate meter? At this point we haven't determined where the problem lies. Apparently a huge amount of electricity was consumed and we don't know it was a mistake. Did you stop using the electric heater? Despite the 'energy saver' mode, it is possible that it sucked up enough juice to heat a house in Beverly Hills. What were your electric bills after the new heating was installed?

If you needed to use the electric heater because the landlord didn't provide you with heat, the landlord may be responsible for some of your costs. That said, I'm not sure that he would be held responsible for the huge cost since it was your choice to use that particular heater and could have used another when you found out how expensive it was to run (and that is incredibly expensive.)

It seems you need a bit more information here before you can really decide how to proceed. You may want to settle with the landlord on an amount for reimbursement although you may not be able to recover the entire amount if this went to court. Difficult to say without all the facts.

Originally posted by fantasee2u
I've tried looking for some answers all over the net seems like this forum is great for answers & solutions! Here's my problems I had electric base board heating for 31/2 months I kept getting these outrages electric bills. I would call my landlord each month a bill would come in explaining to him look I think something is wrong with the heating, you should bring someone in to determine the cause of these high electric bills. Instead of my landlord sending someone to fix the problem, I ended up calling my electric company. I explained how can my electric bill be so high when its never set to more than 70 and its on an energy saver. I then got transferred over to a Supervisor who pinged the meter he informed me that the electric consumed in my apartment was enough to heat a home in Beverly Hills & that my wph were triple what they should be. He told me that I should inform the landlord & explain to him that there was electric being drawn from somewhere other than the electric heating problem. Well after months of $600.00 or up to $913.78 electric bills they finally put in gas heating. But here's my question, being that my electric bills were outrages due to the electrical heating fault in the apartment is my landlord liable for paying me back any of the amounts. I called him about this months rent which is $650.00 a month & he told me that he just spent $3,800.00 on a new boiler & gas line & that there wasnt anything he can & wants his rent.
Please tell me is or should he be responsible for half of the electric bill & after all this should I have to pay him the rent due. Any advise would be great!!!!

 

[fantasee2u]

Here's More Info. Yes, I have a separate meter.
Our electric service for Jan's usuage was 261 KWH/Day, Feb's usuage was 156 KWH/Day & March's usuage was 116 KWH/Day. Electric bills after the new gas heating was installed on Feb 14th have decreased to 61 KWH/Day (it was explained to me by the electric company that being that the service(heat)was not changed over to gas until Feb 14th our bill was still high due to the electric heat still running up until 14th of Feb) As far as choice there was none. Electric heat was the only source of heating we had.
I talked with a Contact Supervisor who sent me documentation (if this went to court) stating to me that it was determined that the problem with the amount of electricity consumed was due to none other than a faulty heating problem. Documentation to this effect is attached: Since the electric heat had been replaced to gas the average KWH/Day has dropped considerably. In that time period the account average has decreased to 62 KWH/Day. (dropped 4,864 KWH from last months billing)

Can I still hold the landlord responsible for some of the costs.
Thanks

 

[Michael Wechsler]

I think that it would be reasonable to hold the landlord responsible for some of the costs of the heating (and there should probably be a clause regarding your landlord's responsibility in the lease) although I'm not sure how much. Now that you have all the documentation, have you spoken to your landlord about him at least being willing to share in the costs of your heating? It is good to know the terms of your lease (heat and hot water are usually required) before entering your discussion and see what you can negotiate.

I can only assume that your usage patterns are representative of the average monthly temperature. All signs would seem to indicate that it was due to the electric heating. However, your outrageously high bill may not be completely the landlord's responsibility, especially if you became aware that your electric heater was consuming electricity at alarming rates. Did you speak to the manufacturer of the heater about the supposed 'energy saver' characteristic?

Originally posted by fantasee2u
Here's More Info. Yes, I have a separate meter.
Our electric service for Jan's usuage was 261 KWH/Day, Feb's usuage was 156 KWH/Day & March's usuage was 116 KWH/Day. Electric bills after the new gas heating was installed on Feb 14th have decreased to 61 KWH/Day (it was explained to me by the electric company that being that the service(heat)was not changed over to gas until Feb 14th our bill was still high due to the electric heat still running up until 14th of Feb) As far as choice there was none. Electric heat was the only source of heating we had.
I talked with a Contact Supervisor who sent me documentation (if this went to court) stating to me that it was determined that the problem with the amount of electricity consumed was due to none other than a faulty heating problem. Documentation to this effect is attached: Since the electric heat had been replaced to gas the average KWH/Day has dropped considerably. In that time period the account average has decreased to 62 KWH/Day. (dropped 4,864 KWH from last months billing)

Can I still hold the landlord responsible for some of the costs.
Thanks

 

[fantasee2u]

We have spoken to our landlord about him willing to share in the costs of our heating & he told us he just forked over $3,800.00 for a new boiler & that there was nothing (dropping the rent down or helping us pay some of the electric) he could do but to terminate the lease & that we could give our 30 day notice at any given time. As far as manufacturer of the heater/energy saver unit it was the companies home/property that was bought by my landlord & was told to them at closing that there was a problem with the heating system & that they should bring someone in to look at it before the winter months approached. Our Landlord was fully aware that our electric heater was consuming electricity at alarming rates from the first billing we got & informed him of it. He kept telling us for 31/2 months that he would have someone come in & look at it. When after repeated phone calls to him we told him its been 31/2 months something needs to be done it's been freezing & were paying as much in electric as we are in rent. Out of the blue a contractor showed up & it still took 2 weeks to get the gas installed cause the contractor said there was miscommunication on the landlords part.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

One of the problems you may have is that when you found out that the electric heater was consuming electricity at an alarming rate, you should have found an alternative and mitigated the amount spent.

On the other hand, if he was responsible to provide you heat, then he will have to bear in some of the cost to have heat provided to you. The $3,800 he had to spend is a capital investment and part of what he needs to do as a homeowner.

Personally, I think you are stuck with a great deal of the electric costs but you should be able to abate from your rent a certain amount for lack of heat (many of these are set by a court.) If he doesn't want to allow you to abate the rent you have two choices. You could sue him in small claims for the amount and find out who owes what to whom. You could also take a risk by abating the rent (I would send a notice prior to doing so, certified mail) taking out a reasonable portion. If he objects and takes you to court, you have a perfectly reasonable defense and the court usually will only allow a landlord to collect rent owed and not evict you.

Now here comes the practicality. Do you have a lease? If you are month to month then you may be able to sue the landlord but he can also give you one month's notice and you will need to find a new place. Regardless, the situation might not be completely satisfactory to you and you may need to look to move eventually if you intend to pursue the money unless you have the protection of the lease.

Originally posted by fantasee2u
We have spoken to our landlord about him willing to share in the costs of our heating & he told us he just forked over $3,800.00 for a new boiler & that there was nothing (dropping the rent down or helping us pay some of the electric) he could do but to terminate the lease & that we could give our 30 day notice at any given time. As far as manufacturer of the heater/energy saver unit it was the companies home/property that was bought by my landlord & was told to them at closing that there was a problem with the heating system & that they should bring someone in to look at it before the winter months approached. Our Landlord was fully aware that our electric heater was consuming electricity at alarming rates from the first billing we got & informed him of it. He kept telling us for 31/2 months that he would have someone come in & look at it. When after repeated phone calls to him we told him its been 31/2 months something needs to be done it's been freezing & were paying as much in electric as we are in rent. Out of the blue a contractor showed up & it still took 2 weeks to get the gas installed cause the contractor said there was miscommunication on the landlords part.