Lighting the Boiler and the Lease Agreement

[2ndstory]

It`s unseasonably cold across the prairies this month. The low was +3 the other night here in Winnipeg and the other night it froze in Moose Jaw.

The tenants in my 4 plex were starting to get cold and asked when I was going to turn on the heat. I hadn`t wanted to yet since I pay for the heat, but I`m not a heartless slumlord. I looked at the lease agreement that the former landlords had used with the tenants (I inherited them) and it stated that tenants were in charge of heating their own suites from May 1 to Oct 1 and the landlord would be responsible for heat during the winter months. Is this even legal? That would mean they would need to use space heaters until Oct 1 because they pay for their own electrical.

I lit the boiler the other night despite this clause in the lease. I had doubts whether it would stand up in any courtroom and it was a case of "do unto others as you`d have them do unto yourself". Thoughts?

Nik

 

[vandriani]

I apologize for being so blunt but ...

Why are fussing over 1 week of utility costs?

 

[housingrental]

In Ontario you have to maintain heat in the property throughout most of the year (apx. 9 months, need to look up exact dates)
I`m not familiar with Manitoba`s law`s but would be surprised if you weren`t obligated to heat the property to at least apx. 21 degrees at this point everywhere in Canada

 

[DenisEncontre]

If your contracts are in violation of the Residential Tenancies Act, the Act takes precedence and your whole contract can be in jeopardy. I had a tenant who complained that their suite was to cold and phoned the health department. I was immediately ordered to fix the problem or they would shut the building down. This was in a duplex that I was also living in and the problem was that the tenant was keeping there windows open in January in Winterpeg and the reading on their thermostat was inaccurate. I told the inspector this but they totally ignored my concerns and said they had the right to occasionally air-out the suite. I also argued that all they had to do was set the thermostat to a higher setting so that they were comfortable and ignore the reading on the thermometer.

I did change the thermostat and eventually got rid of the tenants.

 

[jeffjas]

This is a quote from the RTB website

"A landlord must always make sure that the temperature in the rental unit meets the minimum requirements. There isn`t a set date when a landlord is required to turn on the heat. From 7:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m., the temperature must be at least 21ºC (70ºF). From 11:00 p.m. until 7:00 a.m., the temperature can`t be lower than 18.3ºC (65ºF). If a tenant believes that the landlord is not meeting the requirement, they should contact their local Environmental Health Office."

Your tenant did you a favour by calling you first instead of the City Health Dept.

 

[RebeccaBryan]

Heat your building and make certain your tenants are comfortable. If I was a tenant, I wouldn`t be impressed if it was cold and I wasn`t warm.

 

[2ndstory]

Boiler`s lit. Of course it warmed up this week too.

Nik

 

[Thomas Beyer]

QUOTE (2ndstory @ Oct 1 2010, 12:21 PM) Boiler`s lit. Of course it warmed up this week too.

consider a tankless system .. boiler comes on on demand only. Great for a small building and during those weird fall/spring days in the prairies !

Those have been used in Europe for 3 decades, and are being installed in new buildings now. Consider it if boiler needs replacement anyway.

 

[housingrental]

From repair man "signficantly higher incidences of break downs, do not recommend" Thomas have you had much long term experience with these systems and can provide any additional thoughts?
QUOTE (ThomasBeyer @ Oct 1 2010, 07:32 PM) consider a tankless system .. boiler comes on on demand only. Great for a small building and during those weird fall/spring days in the prairies !

Those have been used in Europe for 3 decades, and are being installed in new buildings now. Consider it if boiler needs replacement anyway.

 

[Thomas Beyer]

QUOTE (housingrental @ Oct 3 2010, 09:44 AM) From repair man "signficantly higher incidences of break downs, do not recommend"
Thomas have you had much long term experience with these systems and can provide any additional thoughts?
somehow I doubt it .. buy a quality unit and do NOTHING for 10 years !!

repairman will lose his job with those new systems !!