What exactly is Pennsylvania law regarding a landlord's requirement to provide "adequate" heat to a tenant? The heating unit in our 1 bedroom apartment works, as does approximately 4 feet of the baseboard radiator in the main room. There is no heat in the bedroom, bathroom, or kitchen-nook. At this point we can set the heat at 80 degrees and close the bedroom/bathroom doors to maintain 68 degrees in the main room (required temperature to maintain 68 is climbing by about 2 degrees/day), mostly because there is heat radiating from the basement (where the heating units are) in to our first floor apartment. Of course we've plastic-sealed all the widows. Our maintenance guy says that our landlord can not afford to replace the heating system because it would require gutting the entire complex, and nothing can be done to repair it.

I doubt if this is part of landlord/tenant law. Such rules are generally established by local housing agencies. So I would contact the local govt for the agenciy that makes and enforces those rules.

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Originally Posted by camicat

What exactly is Pennsylvania law regarding a landlord's requirement to provide "adequate" heat to a tenant?

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Hello cam:

You use the word "adequate", and the law uses the word "un-inhabitable".

If it is LEGALLY un-inhabitable, then landlord/tenant law applies. Otherwise, as Scott said, it would be your local government.

I don't know how a judge would rule on 68 degrees being un-inhabitable. My sense is, while 68 is frigid, it's livable. But, I ain't no judge, and I've been wrong before. Maybe you'll get a judge who really, really likes to be warm. Or not. I don't know.

If you wish to bring this to a head, you'll have to move into a nice warm hotel room, and begin your process. If that's too radical for you, maybe you should stick with your local remedies. After all, "un-inhabitable" means exactly that. You certainly couldn't complain that it was un-inhabitable while you were habitating there.

excon