When My Building's Boiler Needs to Be Replaced...

[rosakleb]

... what happens in the interim between the time the boiler goes bust, and the landlord needs to replace it?

My heat went out two weeks ago. The boiler to the building needs to be replaced. The landlord told us that in order to install a new boiler, the city needs to inspect where it needs to be placed, permits need to be signed, then submitted. All in all it could take up to three weeks before anything can get moving. So my question is, what is the Landlord supposed to do for us within that time? How do they temporarily replace the heat and what are the laws protecting the tenant during this circumstance?

If it truly takes that long to replace a building's boiler, is there some emergency way of expediting the process to get us proper heat again. Or, is there some sort of mobile unit or boiler that the landlord should install while waiting for the okay on installing the new boiler?

As it stands, we still have no heat. This is because the building no longer has a boiler. It has been two full weeks since the original boiler went bust. The landlord did supply all of us with a letter letting us know that the boiler would have to be replaced and it might be a lengthy process. The then the landlord supplied us with a second letter on Thursday, April 10 letting us know that an inspection will take place on that date to see if a new boiler can be intalled. We haven't heard anything beyond that.

It should be noted that the landlord did offer space heaters to the residents should it get to cold (it did, and the space heaters did not warm us up enough. They do take up a lot of electrical power and some fuses were blown in other residents' apartments).

Anyone in the know care to give any feedback on this? Or how I should proceed. Or what my rights vs. the landlord's rights are regarding loss of heat when the boiler needs to be replaced?

[Lilly]

consider yourself lucky that your landlord is doing the right thing by moving forward asap and replacing the boiler, and giving the tenants space heaters on top of it. You want him to subsidize your electric bill? gimme, gimme, gimme...gimme a break

[TenantNet]

No, the poster is correct. It's the LL's obligation to provide heat and hot water. No if's or but's. Tenants are not required the cost of space heaters even though it might be a nice gesture. Yes, it does take some time to acquire, design, permit boilers, etc. But at the same time there are alternatives in mobile boilers. You see them all over town - trucks with mobile boilers and temporary pipes propped over the sidewalk into the building. That assumes the boiler is completely bust and can't be repaired. (of course if it's rent regulated, the owner can then apply for a MCI rent increase). Tenant should form a tenant assoc., do research on boilers so they know what it involves, speak to an attorney so they know their rights (no need to hire one at this point), consider speaking to an engineeer. This is one instance where an engineer might be useful. You can let the owner know diplomatically that while you appreciate his temporary measures, he still has obligations. No need to precipitate a war, but make sure he knows he can't trample over your rights.

[rosakleb]

Thank you for the response.

Some of us wound up staying in a hotel for a few nights... to get a good WARM night sleep. We don't expect the landlord to pay for that, however. But we did think of asking the landlord to give us a reduction on the rent for the days we were not supplied with heat and possibly ask them to pay for our Con Ed bill during the time the space heaters were used (again, for all that electrical power, they provide little heat0.

I should also mention that the boiler was discovered bust AFTER a couple of days of being able to smell oil in the foyer of our building. So the the problem might have occured sometime before the landlord acertained the boiler needed to be replaced. So some negligence might have been involved as well.

[TenantNet]

We're not suggesting you go to war with the LL if you do not need to and if it appears he/she is making a good-faith effort, but the LL does have obligations in return for your rent. In essence you've been constructuvely evicted and you probably do deserve an abatement of rent. How much depends on many factors, but the biggest mistake many tenants make is to let the LLs take advantage of them. Your hotel costs and increased power costs should, IMHO, at a very minimum, be covered.

[MikeW]

The standard way of dealing with this, from a physical standpoint, is to get a temporary boiler, which is in a truck trailer parked on the street in front of the building. Hoses carrying the water supply and return are run over the sidewalk into the building, and spliced into the heating system plumbing. This Rube Goldberg contraption stays in place till the new boiler is ready to go on line.

This is not cheap, and the LL will probably do anything he can to avoid it. But if the boiler is going to be off line for a number of weeks, he'll have to do it.

[Chimera]

If the landlord is able to maintain the minimum heating requirements with the space heaters, perhaps it would be unreasonable to pursue a rent abatement or a mobile boiler? If this is the case -- more than 68 degrees between 6am and 10 pm when it is less than 55 degrees outside, and more than 55 degrees between 10pm and 6am when it is less than 40 degrees outside -- would the landlord then only be obligated to pay for the increased electricity costs during the period the heaters were in use?

It's not exactly freezing now, it could be possible the temperatures are all legal and the only burden on the tenants would be the increased electricity bills.