Since the beginning of this month of October the sun has been “absent” in New York: the cloudy sky and the rain have been constant and will remain so at least until next Thursday.
Meanwhile, the temperature has dropped to more winter than autumn levels, surprising many. In fact, yesterday the cold set a record for this time of year by registering 52F (11C) in the vicinity of JFK airport, slightly below the mark of 53F (11.5 C) effective from the year 1974, highlighted the National Weather Service (NWS) on its Twitter account.
Unfortunately, not all tenants can control when to start receiving heat, especially in older buildings, many depend on the households do it and some do not activate it to save costs.
By law, landlords must maintain “habitable” conditions in apartments and common areas. Thus, heating and hot water are not only a matter of comfort, they are a right of the tenant that does not imply an additional cost.
However, this does not prevent some landlords from ignoring their responsibility and letting to residents in vulnerable or blackmail conditions, especially when the rents are below the market price.
According to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the hot and cold water is a right all year round, while the “heating season” runs from October 1 to 31 May, highlighted the portal DoorSteps. During this long time of year, the heating must be turned on at designated times, both during the day and at night, under these parameters:
–Between 6 am and 10 pm if the outside temperature drops below 55 degrees F (11 C), the inside temperature must be at least 68F (20C).
–Enter 10 pm and 6 am it is required that the indoor temperature be at least 62F (16.5C) regardless of the weather outside.
-Cold and hot water must be provided throughout the year. The hot water from the tap must reach at least 120F (49C). For showers with scalding, the installed devices must reach at least 100 F (38C).
Sometimes the problem is not the lack of heating, but problems with the windows , doors or walls that let the cold filter through. In other cases, the opposite occurs and the heating is excessive. Thus, not all apartments may experience the same inconvenience. What to do then?
Obviously the ideal is to reach a solution as soon as possible. Thus, experts recommend insisting with the landlord and building management, by phone and email, preferably several residents at the same time if there are also problems in their homes. If the objective is not achieved, it is time to report the case in detail and without fear of reprisals (it can even be done anonymously as far as possible): by calling in any language at 311 or better yet, report online to make monitoring easier.
In addition to breaking the law, when landlords do not activate heating can cause illness and/or encourage residents to plug in electrical equipment which, in many cases, has led to deadly fires.
More official information can be consulted in Spanish on the website of the Mayor of New York referring to heating and hot water.
According to the weather forecast, the bad weather will continue tomorrow Wednesday in the city and then it will improve on Thursday and Friday. Weather updates can be found here and on the National Weather Service (NWS-NY) website. More details here about the forecast in each county of New York and Jersey.