Does anyone know the law in New Jersey regarding tenant having no hot water and how many days does landlord have before the tenant has the right to deduct money from the monthly rent? Have been without hot water for 5 days and landlord hired a friend to replace water heater and advised since friend has a fulltime job that it will be another 4 to 5 days before the issue will be addressed. Tenant was advised to boil water. Well, this tenant has taken a shower daily for the past 75 years??? Is this legal???
Very sorry to hear about this horrendous experience, especially during the coldest time the New York and New Jersey metropolitan area has seen in quite some time. It is the landlord's responsibility to provide heat and hot water under the law under the implied warranty of habitability of the rented premises. see also the above provided by @adjusterjack .
My understanding is that you need to notify the landlord about the condition to provide them with a reasonable opportunity to repair. The notice should be done in writing or in some method that is provable. It appears you have provided notice and then the question becomes what is a reasonable.
It is most important to document everything and keep a record. If you have emails that corroborate your story, save them as in admission of a failure to fix in a timely fashion. If this rather ludicrous excuse was said to you during a phone call, you may want to document by repeating the statement made to you in an email response back to the landlord.
I think it's usually easier to discuss a rent reduction with the landlord before you call the equivalent of New York city's 311 complaint line. This is a problem for landlords because it becomes a public record, at least in New York City and it may work the same in New Jersey. It is important to understand that the complaints are your word against the landlord. An investigation is launched at some point and a finding is entered. These investigations can take some time and may not happen immediately, especially when complaints are numerous as they may be at this time. Regardless, it is something the landlord should want to avoid and a way to motivate them to do the right thing and get the heat fixed expeditiously.
