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What's the law on heating temp for tenant's apartm - Landlord Forum thread 354996

What's the law on heating temp for tenant's apartm by mike (New York) on November 8, 2017 @17:05

                              
Hello guys, in NY State this is what I am seeing:

Day
Between the hours of 6:00am and 10:00pm, if the outside temperature falls below 55 degrees, the inside temperature is required to be at least 68 degrees Fahrenheit.

Night
Between the hours of 10:00pm and 6:00am, the inside temperature is required to be at least 62 degrees Fahrenheit.

With my thermostat set at 73 degrees, the tenant is still complaining about it being "freezing cold". Their kids last year also had told their school that their apartment is too cold so the school had wanted to investigate but never did.

I would like to know 2 things please, are landlords supposed to provide heat until the tenant says they are comfortable or are landlords only obligated to make sure the room temps are at least 62 and 68 degrees?

Also, just for my knowledge, what would happen if a school or city agency should want to investigate a home, would they want to inspect your boiler or only go into the apartment with a room thermometer to measure the temps as I do? Thanks.
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Re: What's the law on heating temp for tenant's apartm by Garry (Iowa) on November 8, 2017 @18:14 [ Reply ]
Always remember, those 62 and 68 degree temps are always a minimum temp. A LL or T can always keep it higher. And those temps are taken at the thermostat, wherever it is located at. It's possible that the stat could be wrong, and register higher or lower than what it actually is in the room. Also, it could easily be 5 degrees cooler in a bedroom, by a window, than at the stat. To get a true reading of a temp, you would need to buy 3-4 thermometers or thermostats from different companies, put them all in the same room where the current stat is the for 24 hours, and get an AVERAGE reading from them the next day. Then scatter them around the apartment, by windows, and read them the following day. I'll bet you get a 5 degree difference from the ones by the windows, as opposed to the original stat.
So who or what is right or wrong , or which temp is correct? It's your TENANT that is right or correct, because THEY are the ones who are "freezing cold, no matter what all the stats say. So, the question is, do you want a T that is constantly complaining, or do you want to spend a little more money than you planned on, and turn up the heat to 78 degrees, to stop the complaining. It's a battle you can never win, because you are dealing in facts ( numbers), and your T is dealing with their "feelings" of being cold. Give the T more heat for the winter, and raise their rent the next time their lease is up for renewal.
Re: What's the law on heating temp for tenant's apartm by Anonymous on November 9, 2017 @03:15 [ Reply ]
It's not what your thermostat says, but what the actual temperature is in the tenants apartment! Have you had your system checked out to insure that it is running efficiently and correctly delivers the proper heat temperature to the apartment?
Re: What's the law on heating temp for tenant's apartm by Anonymous on November 11, 2017 @17:33 [ Reply ]
I have a 5 unit place where there is ONE thermostat on the ground floor and I keep it at 70. I have no idea what the temp is in the apartments because no one has ever complained.

I have another 5 unit building and there are 5 thermostats and I set the stat at 68 and put a lock box on each one. for 5 years I had the place on the budget plan for the gas. Some tenants complained it was too cold and some said it was too hot for them. So I unlocked all the boxes as an experiment and in two years my gas bill has not gone up.

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