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LOCK HAVEN – Tenants who argue over heating service with landlords have few options under state law, which appears to favor the landlord’s rights to property over the tenant’s rights to a habitable, safe environment.
They might very well find themselves confronted by the same woes as befell a Beech Creek senior citizen and two other tenant families recently over a disagreement about heating oil for those apartments.
Indeed, tenants who live in more rural areas of Pennsylvania might not have much recourse at all, due to the lack of a statewide standard for minimum quality on rental properties and a requirement for inspections.
A check with various state consumer rights agencies suggests that Pennsylvania’s landlord-tenant law offers very general statements involving habitability, safety and welfare, but very specific statements regarding evictions, damage to property and the restrictions a landlord can place on what happens inside a rental unit.
The question arose in connection with a complaint over conditions in a Beech Creek rental unit in recent months, when the landlord reportedly neglected to provide enough heating fuel and instead purchased electric space heaters for the tenants.
After several complaints were made to county government officials, the media and elsewhere, suggesting that landlord Dave Mayes refused to buy oil for tenants, Clinton County Children and Youth Services took note of the fact that children were living in some of those spaces.
The agency used $2,000 from its emergency account to fill the oil tank for the apartments as temperatures dipped near the single digits.
The issue came to light when Roni Stroud, daughter of Susan Viloria, of 1683 Eagle Valley Road, Beech Creek, uncovered what she believed were adverse conditions at the apartment her mother lived in since 2009.
The building is heated by oil, but the tank was empty for about two weeks, Stroud said, and when the landlord was contacted, Mayes opted for space heaters and provided them to the occupants of the three apartments.
LANDLORD RESPONDS
Mayes, while not disputing the specific facts of the situation, said Wednesday that he responded to the situation with space heaters as a “temporary fix” due to an unexpectedly high consumption and cost of heating fuel within 14 days’ time. He also said the types of heaters provided were high quality units and are often used to heat whole houses.
Viloria says she repeatedly asked her landlord to fill the oil tank because heat is included in her rent, but he refused.
She also said the place had no hot water for several days.
Mayes said the request was made once and had another call been made, he would have responded appropriately.
Mayes said he received no complaints from his other tenants, and that they expressed satisfaction with the temporary solution and the level of heat in their spaces.
But Viloria isn’t buying that.
“One morning I woke up and it was 37 degrees in my bedroom,” she said.
Two other families live in the apartment house. Each has children under the age of 5.
The place is now warm, thanks to Clinton County Children and Youth.
“It has been heaven to be able to have heat,” Viloria said.
Mayes insists he is fulfilling his duties as a landlord by providing space heaters to his tenants.
“There has never been a day without heat there,” he said. “The heat is included in the rent, but it does not specify oil heat.”
He appears to be correct – but even if he were not, any response from the tenants would be limited because the local government, like many in the area, hasn’t adopted laws or ordinances to govern residential rental rentals.
LACK OF CODES
“That’s very important for people to know,” Lock Haven City Code Enforcement Officer Cyndi Walker said. “If your local government doesn’t have the code, there’s no means for enforcement.”
The remaining remedies are pretty much civil court matters and, Walker said, if somebody has no heat, waiting seven or eight days for a hearing to be scheduled in district court over a heating dispute could be a critical matter.
The International Enforcement Code the city adopted a few years back only addresses new construction.
“There is a code called the property maintenance code but it is not required,” Walker said. “In 2004, when Pennsylvania adopted the series of standards under the International Code Council they were dealing with construction. The rental part of it was optional.”
Walker said the city opted for a regulated rental standard, and it’s been in place for some time.
“We set minimum standards for things like smoke detectors, handrails, and heating sources,” she said. “Under the city’s regulations, the owner of a property must provide a viable heating source as a primary source, be it oil, gas or electric. It has to be operational and capable of maintaining a minimum temperature of 68 degrees from Sept. 15 to May 15.”
The statute makes no mention of who is required to pay the heating bill, Walker said, and leaves that issue up to the tenant and landlord.
But, she said, primary sources of heating must be permanent, and space heaters – even high power, high quality heaters – are considered only temporary.
Walker said under those circumstances, a landlord could use that method for emergency situations, but not for extended periods and only until the fuel tank can be filled.
Children and Youth, as well as the county commissioners and the Area Agency on Aging, got involved in the situation after Viloria’s relatives contacted them about the issue.
According to Human Services Director Gerald Rosamilia, the county was alerted to what he termed a “potentially dangerous” environmental issue and under advisement of the county commissioners, his agency (Children and Youth) reacted immediately to resolve the danger, without immediately addressing any legal issues that might be related.
Rosamilia said the agency is attempting to be reimbursed by the landlord for the oil.
He also referred the renters to North Penn Legal Services in Williamsport.
Beyond any limited, free work done by local attorneys, North Penn Legal is the closest nonprofit agency around to provide civil legal representation to low-income people under the concept of equal access to justice for all.
COUNTY SUPPORT
County Commissioners Jeff Snyder, Joel Long and Pete Smeltz said they fully supported and encouraged the allocation of emergency funds – but they are also examining the larger picture and may reach out to local governments to ensure the county’s least vulnerable citizens in rental situations are afforded a level of protection.
“Most people in these situations don’t reach out,” Rosamilia said, “because they fear eviction or breaking a lease. We had a situation last year in Renovo with three kids in the house, and they were planning to cut off the water and sewer services. We paid the bill, set up a repayment plan and the family paid back every cent. Children and Youth Services isn’t in the business of removing kids from homes when the factor is environmental and the parents aren’t at fault. We deal with getting people out of harm’s way.”
Of course, Clinton County is somewhat unique in that regard because a certain level of personal contact can be maintained, given the county’s rural nature.
Rosamilia said he couldn’t conceive of a big-city human services office offering that type of immediate response.
“It’s a problem we could hardly ignore,” Smeltz said. “We heard about the space heaters, but then we heard there was no hot water and that’s just not adequate.”
“I heard about it and asked if there were any children,” Snyder said. “That’s when I was told about the other families.”
Long said he had contact with the office of State Rep. Mike Hanna, D-Clinton/Centre counties, and was provided with enough information for the board members to assess options. He also reached out to the local Office of Aging to open another level of interaction.
This was a new problem for all three commissioners, but unfortunately it’s a problem that might occur with increasing regularity in the worst of times, like an unusually cold winter or an unusually severe economic downturn.
According to the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, which offers a guide to legal information and free civil legal services for low-income persons and seniors in Pennsylvania, tenants are afforded the right “to a safe and sanitary home” under the court’s interpretation regarding the right to “the implied warranty of habitability.”
LEASE AGREEMENTS
Some of those factors are contained in lease agreements, and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office recommends any tenants make sure the lease contains:
~ The specific address, including apartment number of the property.
~ The length of the lease.
~ An explanation of the rent payment procedure, including late penalties and rent increases.
~ Which utilities you are responsible for paying.
~ Termination or renewal terms.
r The amount of any security deposit.
But that standard of “habitability” applies, regardless of any written lease or an oral agreement with a landlord, and cannot be waived.
The words contained within that standard are very broad, and landlords aren’t required to provide a perfect place to live.
Tenants who want solutions do have rights, but there are often costs attached. Landlords are required to make repairs necessary to keep a home in a safe, sanitary and healthy condition, provided tenants did not cause the damage and provided they are current on rent when the problems develop.
“For example, the landlord is responsible for correcting serious problems, such as a leaking roof, lack of heat, or roach infestation,” the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network (www.palegalaid.net) writes on its web page.
SOLUTIONS TO DISPUTES
As for solutions in actual disputes, the network suggests the avenues afforded the tenant are limited:
~ Notify the landlord of the problem in writing, describe the problem, ask the landlord to fix it, and say what will happen if it is not fixed within a reasonable time. Send the letter by certified mail with return receipt.
~ Collect evidence. Pictures and witnesses are important. It’s also helpful to get a builder, plumber or electrician to evaluate what repairs are needed and how much they will cost. Having more than one estimate is helpful as well.
~ If nothing is fixed, withhold rent or reduce the amount of rent that you pay because of the problem. The amount you should hold back depends on how bad the problem is. Keep the rent that you withhold in a separate bank account, so that you can pay the money later if a court decides you owe rent. Then, if your landlord tries to evict you and the judge rules that the housing conditions were not as bad as you thought, you will be able to pay the rent the judge says you owe.
~ Repair and deduct. Repair the defect yourself or have a professional repair it and deduct the cost from your rent payments. The repairs must be necessary to make the home safe and livable and must be reasonable in price. The cost of the repairs cannot be more than the amount of rent you owe for the lease term.
~ Bring a lawsuit to get back the rent you paid when your home was not fit or to get compensation for any injuries or other damages you suffer because of the landlord’s failure to make repairs.
~ Get a court order requiring the landlord to make repairs.
~ Move, without a further duty to pay rent.
In some areas, municipal housing codes are enacted and enforced by local government, setting minimum standards for all dwelling units. Examples are the provision of safe potable water, proper waste disposal, bath and kitchen facilities, heating systems, floors, walls, ceilings, windows and doors in acceptable condition and tight roof.
Other municipalities, particularly those in metropolitan areas of the state like Philadelphia or Harrisburg, go even further.
In Philadelphia, for example, running water and hot water are mandatory, as is heat at 68 degrees minimum from October through April, and in May and September if the temperature drops below 60 degrees.
The city of Harrisburg has a housing code that requires the landlord to provide a minimum of 65 degrees, 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.., between Oct. 1 and May 15, and at least 60 degrees at night and when the temperature drops below zero.
As for that optional, statewide ordinance?
That requires every owner of any building to furnish heat of not less than 68 degrees from Sept. 15 to May 15, in all habitable rooms, bathrooms and toilet rooms.