I've been renting an apart. In pa for 3 yrs with the same landlord.
The landlord pays for the heat(oil).
I HAVE A WRITTEN AND SIGNED MO TO MO LEASE STATING THAT THE LANDLORD IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE HEAT.
For some reason this yr only the landlord has not turned the heat on.
I have sent him a letter and a text mess. With no response.
I pay rent on time every month but I'm holding nov. rent until the heat is turned on.
Do I have this right??
What can I do if he doesn't turn heat on?
What do I do? Who do I contact

Hello mx:

You can't make him turn on the heat. All you can do is move.

People with leases have a lot more leverage than month to month renters because they can break their lease if the landlord doesn't give them heat. You have no lease to break, and if you give the landlord a hard time, he'll give you 30 days notice.

As a last ditch effort, I would combine a request for heat with MY 30 day written notice. If he gives you heat, you'll rescind the notice. If he cares about your tenancy, he'll give you some heat. If not, see you later.

excon

Have you spoken to the landlord. My dad has a similar issue to this in NY, turned out his landlord had died.

It might just be an issue of a thermostat. We have had an unusually warm fall, so the heat may just not have kicked in.

But, since you have a month to month lease, then the lease can be changed with one month's notice. With heating oil costs rising, the landlord may feel he can no longer afford to subsidize heating your aprtment.

Bottomline is you need to talk to the landlord and find out what's going on. You do have a right to an inhabitable premises. But I don't know what temperature would be considered uninhabitable for your area.

If the landlord continues to be non-responsive, who to contact is dependent upon where you live. The easiest way to find out if a town or county department handles this issue in your area, is to contact the Pennsylvania State Attorney General's office. Here is link. Scroll down all the way to the last paragraph on the very bottom of the page. There is a phone number and an email link to file a complaint. Consumers: Protecting Pennsylvania Consumers - Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General

In PA, heat must be turned on as of Oct 1. It very well may be that the landlord isn't aware that there is a problem with the boiler. But, since you attempted to contact him and haven't received a response, call that number to see what your next step should be.

I'm in the same situation.. I deal with this every year and its oct 4th 2010 and the heat is not on,and I'm freezing as well.. same old story I here.. the heat will kick on when it gets cold enough,um yeah right,the furnace is not even on.. I live in ny state and the land lord controls the heat and the tenent controls the temputurem yuck,exactly, never again.. any how I would contact the land lord and asked them what's up and say hey if this does not get resolved I will be moving,remember the landlord has to pay a lot in order to find a new tenant etc etc, it's a hassle,he might as well give up and turn the freakin heat on.. hope all works out for any who read this..