They would have notified him in June if they had had any idea in June that the furnace was malfunctioning.
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You cannot hold some one responsible for something they did not know about. Clearly the tenant did know there was a problem since they contacted the utility. That they never contacted the LL means that the LL could not address the issue. Instead, the tenant chose to muck about with this themselves for months.
The tenant had the first BIG clue with the power usage issue. They contacted the utility, which indicates knowledge of an issue, but not the LL. Diagnosing power issues in homes really isn't something the utility does after the power makes it to the meter, that's what an electrician would do. Do you call the water Co when you have a leaky pipe in your house? no, you call a plumber.
So, you are saying that even if they had contacted the landlord the first or second month that it happened that the landlord would still not have been responsible for their misfunctioning equipment? Because you are clearly stating that the landlord should not be responsible for ANY of the extra energy costs simply because they took so long to notify him. I think he should at least be responsible for the first two months.
Let's say the fridge when out. If the tenant kept putting food in it for months and it kept spoiling would the LL be responsible?
Would the LL even be responsible if it was just the first load of food?
But they didn't notify the LL so your scenario revolving around the first two months is irrelevant.
I said, clearly, that you cannot hold the LL responsible for damaged equipment if they are unaware of it. The tenant was aware of the issue and chose to not notify the LL. If the LL is not notified then they cannot have the issue looked at. Instead, the tenant chose to go it alone and thus bears the burden of the cost.
If the LL chooses to reimburse a portion of the cost then that's their business but I just don't see any liability that would compel it.
Exactly.
I agree, and my question would be: In the recent past, when was the furnace last inspected? It’s my understanding that furnace manufacturers usually recommend annual inspections and maintenance by a qualified technician. Why should the burden be on the tenant to monitor the condition of the heating/cooling equipment when they clearly have no expertise in that area?
That is an entirely different matter. The furnace was working. They got hot air and cold air according to the OP. When a fridge goes out it's obvious. Nothing is cold. My first reaction to an unprecedented electric bill would be to assume a faulty reading of the meter. There are other things as well that would come ahead of the furnace being the problem.
The OP doesn't state how long the he'd had these tenants but, as stated, the heating and cooling did work. It sounds like one pole on the heater contactor in the furnace was fused allowing one element to stay energized. This isn't something that would necessarily pop up in an inspection.
I still maintain that the tenants clearly knew there was a problem and failed to communicate it. How can a LL be expected to fix something if they don't know about it? After all, $300/mo (presumably) is a stupendous increase! Why wouldn't you be screaming bloody murder to your landlord that there was something wrong?! Why wouldn't you be watching your meter? Turning on and off breakers? As a tenant you have responsibilities as well, such as watching out for your own interests, which these tenants clearly didn't do.
Well, I'm happy to see that this thread has produced a variety of opinions, and that everyone is as clear about the situation as I am :).
There hasn't been a recent inspection of the furnace. I'm also relatively certain that an inspection would not have detected the problem until the moment it failed. The heating/cooling technician referred to something he called the 'sequencer', which I presume is responsible for determining when and how to energize each heating coil in the furnace. I don't believe it's something that 'fused'; I think it's an electronic type failure (although I'm guessing). In any case, one 5kw element was always on. In spite of this, air conditioning felt cold, and I was unable to detect any heat from the inside of the furnace when I was trying to figure things out.
The tenant tried to have the meter checked, but energy company refused, saying the homeowner had to request that, even though they have the account and pay the bill. I had the meter checked the day after the tenant contacted me, and started troubleshooting myself the same evening.
I agree with much that has been said so far - trouble is, the ideas are conflicting :).