FRIGID tenants who are shivering through apartment heating issues can force their landlord to help out – as long as they know their rights.
Legal experts have urged renters to never settle for chilly homes when temperatures drop to dangerously low numbers.
For the past several years, residents in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, have struggled to keep warm thanks to shoddy heating systems.
In November 2022, Joseph Garmon, a father residing at Ascend Apartments, reached out for assistance as his children were compelled to huddle under layers of blankets and sweats to keep warm.
“It’s horrible. I got three kids and a wife, and they’re sitting in the cold,” he told NBC affiliate KFOR at the time.
Cathleen Beauchamp, a tenant in the same building, claimed she became ill due to the frigid temperatures.
“I dislike the fact that I have to move around constantly to ensure my child’s warmth and comfort, to protect her from falling ill due to her asthma,” he expressed.
“And when she gets sick, she gets really sick. She ends up in the hospital.”
During that period, the management of the apartment complex issued a notice indicating that the boiler system was malfunctioning but reassured residents that repairs were underway as promptly as feasible.
However, some tenants claimed that after days of waiting, they still didn’t see any progress.
This year, attorneys want tenants to be fully prepared if they have to confront their landlord about heating issues.
According to attorney Tim Gilton, the Oklahoma Landlord Tenant Act asserts that property owners must maintain a reasonable liveable standard for renters.
This means that heat, hot water, and electricity must be running smoothly at all times, Gilton told KFOR.
If these essentials ever have an issue, renters should report it and give their landlord a 14-day notice.
Once that two-week grace period has passed, tenants can take drastic actions if the problems haven’t been solved.
“The tenant can either move out, terminate the lease earlier or, up to the cost of one month of rent, have the repairs done at their expense and then look to the landlord to reimburse them,” said Gilton.
I got three kids and a wife, and they’re sitting in the cold
Joseph Garmon
Before renters take any abrupt action, they should make sure they protect themselves.
This means giving written and dated notices to landlords throughout every step of the process.
Make sure a paper trail proves that a service request was made and not followed up on within the two-week period.
Then, notify the landlord, explaining why you will be moving out or refusing to pay your rent.
In other renting news, one man was billed a massive $15,000 immediately after his mother died.
And one landlord tried to double the rent despite a chicken corpse issue.
