Help, my heat is not working!

     It has been bitterly cold in Massachusetts this week.  If your heat is not working properly and you are a tenant or a landlord, here are some things you need to know.

• Unless the tenant is providing the fuel for heat, the landlord is required to provide heat between September 15 and June 15 each year.  During that time, the temperature between 7:00 am and 11:00 pm must be between 68 and 78 degrees Fahrenheit.  From 11:01 pm until 6:59 am, the temperature must be at least 64 degrees Fahrenheit (and still cannot exceed 78 degrees).

• You dont have to be completely without heat to call the town or city about it.  If your unit never gets above 66, you should call and document the issue..

• A landlord is responsible for maintaining the heating system in good operating condition.  This is not something that can be shifted to the tenant.

• If a tenant does not have heat, let the landlord know immediately.  It is fine to notify by phone, but follow up with an email or hand written note and keep a copy.  

• If you are a landlord, keep your tenant apprised of the timeline and events.  Treat the tenant as you would want to be treated if it was your house with no heat.

• If the landlord is not responsive, call your town or city board of health or inspectional services who will conduct an inspection and document the issue.  If it is after hours, you can try and call the non-emergency line of your local police.  They might be able to help.  If your heat was out previously, call again and ask for a reinspection.  Lack of heat is considered a condition that endangers or impairs safety.  Ask the city or town about emergency relief.

• Particularly where the weather is so cold, it is not inappropriate to ask the landlord for space heaters until the heat is fixed.  If the heat is going to be out for sometime, you may ask the landlord pay for a hotel or alternative housing.

• Ultimately, if your heat is not working properly, but your landlord will not pay for you to stay in a hotel, and bunking with friends or family is not an option, you have few choices.  My recommendation is to make the decision to stay or go that you need to make for you and your family's health, safety and welfare.  There may be legal implications and you may have a case, but be safe first and foremost.

Stay warm and safe out there.