Paying for heat?

[ursa27]

Hi everyone. My boyfriend signed the lease in deregulated apt but nobody mentioned that he has to pay for the gas heating the boiler and the water in the apt. The broker used regular lease which states "LL will supply a)heat as required by law;b)hot and cold water(...)Tenant must pay for all electric, gas telephone(...)used in the Apartment" It's not exactly clear that we have to pay for the heat. October came and the heat never came on, we are freezing, but Con Ed said that if the heat is on our charges would be anywhere from $350-$500 a month! How would we even know if we are paying for this apartment only or for some gas charges in other apartments? We cannot regulate the heat, there is no equipment in the apt. We want to make landlord to pay all this gas usage, we think it must be against the law. Does anybody have any advice what to do?

[bluegrasslady]

First, how do you know it's a deregulated apartment? According to whom? Have you called the NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal to ask for a complete rental history? (718-739-6400)

A landlord eager to sell you the story that you're in a "deregulated" apartment is probably hoping you don't file for an overcharge. Check out the rental history and do the math.

Second, if the lease says the landlord provides the heat, it should be provided to you. No excuses ("Oh, we didn't mean that. That's just a standard lease." That's crap. You could say the same about the rent. "Oh, you didn't mean to charge us $3800. That's just a standard number.")

Call 311 and get a "no heat" complaint going against your landlord. Ask the other people in your building if they have had similar problems. Sounds like this LL is trying to sell you a silly story.