Expectations regarding home heat when renting?

[red92s]

I recently (Nov. 9th) moved into a studio apartment that I found through a rental agency. The unit is one of three in the building: a retail store that occupies the front half of the lower floor, my studio on the rear of the lower floor, and a 2 bedroom unit above the store. My unit was part of the existing structure, but was only recently turned into a third space. All the appliances, counters, windows, doors, cabinets, fixtures, floors, and finishes were installed just prior to my move-in.

When I first looked at the unit, I noticed it had three exterior walls and lots of windows (about 8, plus 2 doors with glass). I figured this would certainly increase the utility costs for heating/cooling, but felt better as all the windows are newly installed double-panes, and new insulation was supposedly put in the walls as well. Heat is supplied by two electric units, 2000 watts each on the high setting, 1000 watts each on the low setting.

The first several nights I was there, it was warmer than normal for late fall in MA and I hardly touched the heat. The last several nights, it's dipped into the low 20's and teens outside. Even with both heaters running full blast, and an additional 1500 watt space heater of my own running, I need a jacket around the house. At night, with about 5" of down blankets, I still am still quite cold. Cool rooms do not normally bug me, but this is almost borderline unlivable. To me, it seems like running all 5500 watts of heat I have makes little difference . . . and keep in mind, this is a one-room studio apartment.

My digital thermometer said the inside temp was 58.7 when I woke up this morning. I cranked all the heaters to full blast, took a shower, got dressed, and ate breakfast (~30 minutes elapsed). I shut everything off and rechecked the thermometer before leaving for work: 61.2.

To me, a 2.5 deg temp change at max output is pretty unreasonable for a brand new heating system expected to function through a New England winter. Running the three heaters mentioned above equates to about 55 cents an hour in power use: $6 a day, $180 a month in power . . . before any lights or appliances are turned on. For a newly-constructed studio.

Honestly, I'm not terribly upset about the cost. I knew it would be high given the layout. I'm upset about what that cost buys you: 2.5-3 degrees warmer temps. With that kind of payback, I'll just leave everything off; I'll still shiver all night regardless.

Do I have any recourse here? I don't have a lease (month to month rental). Temps are probably going to drop another 15-20 deg at some points this winter, and I'm afraid the place will be downright uninhabitable without a space heater plugged into every outlet and a $400 power bill.

[red92s]

Found the MA Tenant's Handbook. Contains the following.

The tenant is entitled to a safe and habitable living environment. The State Sanitary Code protects the health, safety and well-being of tenants
and the general public.

The Code includes the following provisions:

* HEAT: The landlord must provide and maintain a heating system in good
operating order. From September 16 to June 14, every room must be heated
to a temperature of at least 68oF between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and
11:00 p.m. and at least 64oF between the hours of 11:01 p.m. and 6:59
a.m. unless the tenant is required to supply the fuel under a written
lease agreement. During the heating season, the maximum heat allowable in the apartment is 78oF.

At maximum output, I can't even hit the minimum required-by-law temperatures!

[arthurb999]

Turn off the power and take one of the electrical sockets and metal box out of the wall. Check to see if there is insulation in there. Get an insence stick and walk around the exterior walls and windows and find the leaks… fill the with caulk.

[simpleyme]

since the apartment is just rented for the first time ever the owner would not be aware of the problem let them know that the heat is just not heating the place

we had a similar situation the tenant notified me i went and bought a wall heater for about 2 hundred dollars at home depot fixed the problem the place is toasty warm .

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by simpleyme

since the apartment is just rented for the first time ever the owner would not be aware of the problem let them know that the heat is just not heating the place

I agree. The owner probably has no idea that the problem exists. It may be something easily remedied and no matter what, it isn't your responsibility, it is that of the owner.

[rizzmo]

Might be cheaper to run your oven with the door ajar. Ha! sorry bad attempt at humor, though the numbers would be interesting to see. Anyway inform the landlord and if he will not fix the problem, then take it up with the proper government body that oversees these issues.

[KatieNK]

Have you talked to your landlord?

[red92s]

Originally Posted by KatieNK

Have you talked to your landlord?

The last two to three days have been the first *bitterly* cold nights of the year, so the problem is just becoming apparent. I did call him and let him know about the shoddy wiring job the cable installer found, and the situation with the heat not being adequate.

My rent is $825 a month. I figure I'd need about double the heating power to get the interior "warm". At that point (~10,000 watts), heating alone would run well above $300. Add in lights and appliances, and it's easily a $400 power bill. While I could certainly AFFORD to pay 50% of my rent towards power, I can't even come close to JUSTIFYING it, and I suspect the landlord will be pressed to find anyone able to. So, I suggested the landlord first try to increase the efficiency of the current system through better insulation and draft reduction, and if that fails, consider a cut in rent.


I didn't run the heat last night, and used an electric blanket instead . .. indoor temp was around 46 when I woke up. The electric blanket draws about 4% of the power of the heaters, and I slept great. It is really, REALLY hard to leave a heated bed and walk though a 46 degree room at 6 am though!

[KatieNK]

That is just unacceptable. I will be really interested to find out what your landlord says/does to fix this. Keep us posted and good luck!

P.S. You should look into getting a heated throw for when you are just lounging around watching TV.

[kork13]

Originally Posted by red92s

... indoor temp was around 46 when I woke up. The electric blanket draws about 4% of the power of the heaters, and I slept great. It is really, REALLY hard to leave a heated bed and walk though a 46 degree room at 6 am though!

I definitely agree with how hard it is to get out of bed when the house is cold.... but 46 degrees?!?!? That's dangerous to your health! I'd be on my landlord's heels about it to be that bad.

[red92s]

Originally Posted by kork13

I definitely agree with how hard it is to get out of bed when the house is cold.... but 46 degrees?!?!? That's dangerous to your health! I'd be on my landlord's heels about it to be that bad.

Keep in mind, that's without running ANY heat overnight, so it's certainly plausible. I've put the plastic film over the windows to try and reduce some heat loss and drafts, and hung some insulated curtains to separate the kitchen from the living space (the kitchen is big, and there is no real reason to be heating it 95% of the time). With those changes, I can get into the low 60's with the heat of full-bore (with outdoor temps in the low teens). I just can't afford to run it at full bore 12 hours a day, so right now, I'm not.

Just so you can see what I'm contending with here:

The 2 small white units on the walls are the only heat in the place. It is a big space to keep warm, especially with the kitchen up there, and notice just how many windows there are for a single room.

[disneysteve]

Is there anything above you or is it a 1-story structure? Heat rises. If it is 1-story, chances are the ceiling isn't well insulated. Is there an attic or crawl space? If so, I'd make sure that is insulated.

Dropping to 46 degrees tells me the place isn't built well or insulated well. If we left our heat off overnight, I doubt that the house temp would drop that low. And the fact that the best you can do is the low 60s surely indicates a major problem. You should certainly be able to get it up into the mid-70s at least if you wanted to.

[red92s]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

Is there anything above you or is it a 1-story structure? Heat rises. If it is 1-story, chances are the ceiling isn't well insulated. Is there an attic or crawl space? If so, I'd make sure that is insulated.

Dropping to 46 degrees tells me the place isn't built well or insulated well. If we left our heat off overnight, I doubt that the house temp would drop that low. And the fact that the best you can do is the low 60s surely indicates a major problem. You should certainly be able to get it up into the mid-70s at least if you wanted to.

It is a single story (my unit is the rear-most part of the building).

Picasa Web Albums - Tim - apt

There is a small attic space above. You can see the access in the second picture from my previous post (between the two cealing fans). I've peeked up there and there looked to be a good amount of the loose gray "wool" type insulation on the floors/my cealing, but nothing on the roof or the building itself.

I wish I could see whats inside the walls, but all the electrical and wiring boxes are surface-mounted so I can't peek in there. Also, there is a basement, and I don't believe there is any insulation on the floor of the unit.

[disneysteve]

We have the same problem with our family room. It is a 1-story section built between the rest of the house and the garage. It has 2 outer walls and is built on a concrete slab, not over the basement like the rest of the house, and has a huge picture window on one wall and 2 normal windows on the other wall. It is heated, but the garage is not and there's nothing over it (not even an attic). So it is always several degrees cooler than the rest of the house. We run a space heater in there during the winter. Fortunately, it is not a huge room so we can manage it.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Photo number 7 shows some kind of fireplace in the kitchen, it seems. Are you expected to use that?

I think your kitchen and bath plumbing have potential to freeze up when you get some real cold for days on end. Well, the bath anyway. The kitchen looks to be against the interior, probably well -heated, larger part of the building. Your landlord would surely want to know that his/her place is at risk that way. I think it would be to the landlord's advantage to supply a heating system that the tenant can afford to use.

If it gets really bad and you can't get the landlord to act quickly and have no where else to go, at least move your bedding and essentials into the kitchen to hang out in the smaller room to heat. Or move into the store, if your landlord is the operator of that, ha-ha-ha@

[red92s]

Originally Posted by Joan.of.the.Arch

Photo number 7 shows some kind of fireplace in the kitchen, it seems. Are you expected to use that?

I think your kitchen and bath plumbing have potential to freeze up when you get some real cold for days on end. Well, the bath anyway. The kitchen looks to be against the interior, probably well -heated, larger part of the building. Your landlord would surely want to know that his/her place is at risk that way. I think it would be to the landlord's advantage to supply a heating system that the tenant can afford to use.

If it gets really bad and you can't get the landlord to act quickly and have no where else to go, at least move your bedding and essentials into the kitchen to hang out in the smaller room to heat. Or move into the store, if your landlord is the operator of that, ha-ha-ha@

The fireplace in the kitchen is an electric unit. Mostly just crackles and looks nice, but will put out a small amount of heat. I don't use it, as it hardly puts out any heat and runs on 220v so it's not cheap to keep on.