Energy Usage Due to Hidden Malfunction
My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: Ohio
I'm a landlord. My tenant contacted me about high energy usage. The root cause turned out to be a 'silent' failure of a component in the furnace that caused one of the heating elements to be on all of the time.
The only symptom of this was the energy use - the cooling worked (enough to actually provide cooling anyway), the heating worked - nothing appeared broken.
The terms of the lease say that the tenant is responsible for their energy bill, and the account is in their name.
The situation started in June, and I was contacted just this week (September). I immediately had the problem diagnosed and remedied.
The tenant is left with an enormous energy bill. They are looking for some relief.
I am trying to figure out how to handle this - the problem did arise from a failure in equipment that is my responsibility, but at the same time, I was not notified that a problem was occurring for many months.
So - who is responsible for the extra energy usage? Is it them? Is it me? Is it a bad idea to offer to split the amount?
Any help is appreciated.
Thanks!
Stan
Re: Energy Usage Due to Hidden Malfunction
You fixed the problem quickly once the tenant told you about it so, l don't think there is any reason to think you would be on the hook legally.
How much are we talking about and how much is the monthly rent?
Re: Energy Usage Due to Hidden Malfunction
Hi PayrolGuy,
I'm not certain of the exact amount, but a guess would be that they were billed about $300 per month over what their normal usage would have been, for basically four months - so call it $1200 total.
The rent is currently $850.
Re: Energy Usage Due to Hidden Malfunction
If you are feeling generous give him a discount on next month's rent.
Re: Energy Usage Due to Hidden Malfunction
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MisterAcoustic
Hi PayrolGuy,
I'm not certain of the exact amount, but a guess would be that they were billed about $300 per month over what their normal usage would have been, for basically four months - so call it $1200 total.
The rent is currently $850.
And the tenant didn't notice that immediately?!
I'd agree that you aren't on the hook as you did address the issue upon being notified. It's now on you to determine what you want to do. You can split it, you can give them a one time break, or ignore them at your pleasure/peril.
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Mark47n
And the tenant didn't notice that immediately?!
I'd agree that you aren't on the hook as you did address the issue upon being notified. It's now on you to determine what you want to do. You can split it, you can give them a one time break, or ignore them at your pleasure/peril.
I think they did notice it immediately - but I can see how they may have thought the first bill was a fluke. And the next bill they thought it was their fault and tried to reduce usage, and ... well, and so on. They got a bit of a run-around from the energy utility - their magic software attributed the usage to several different things, none of which was heating/cooling.
Thanks all for the input. It seems I'm likely not responsible/liable, but I am free to give them a break without agreeing that any of the problem is my fault.
I will keep checking here for a while in case someone else wants to weigh in.
Thanks again!
Re: Energy Usage Due to Hidden Malfunction
I'm a landlord who owns several properties and you probably won't like my advice.
I don't care about the fine intricacies of the law. If I am obligated to provide my tenants with certain items, they need to be in good working condition. If i give them a defective item and as a result, it causes the tenant to improperly incur an inordinate expense, that's on me and I'm going to voluntarily make good the tenant's loss. It's the right thing to do and just good business. Things like this are also the cost of doing business. We can't always be raking in the gelt. Sometimes we have to take a hit or two in the pocketbook for unexpected expenses.
I would sit down with the tenant, figure out an amount that is agreeable to the both of you and give it to them as credit on their rent. It's not going to kill you in the long run.
Re: Energy Usage Due to Hidden Malfunction
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MisterAcoustic
I think they did notice it immediately - but I can see how they may have thought the first bill was a fluke. And the next bill they thought it was their fault and tried to reduce usage, and ... well, and so on. They got a bit of a run-around from the energy utility - their magic software attributed the usage to several different things, none of which was heating/cooling.
Thanks all for the input. It seems I'm likely not responsible/liable, but I am free to give them a break without agreeing that any of the problem is my fault.
I will keep checking here for a while in case someone else wants to weigh in.
Thanks again!
I disagree a bit with the others. I can see going through a lot of run a round with the electric company trying to figure out why the bill is so high before coming to the conclusion that it might be a furnace malfunction. That is why I don't think the fact that it took the tenant 4 months to figure out that they might have a furnace problem absolves you from being responsible.
If they somehow magically figured out on the first bill that it was a furnace problem I doubt that anyone would suggest that you weren't responsible. Even on the second bill I think its unlikely. The advice you are getting that you are not responsible is based solely on the fact that someone thinks its unreasonable for them to have taken 4 months to figure out that it might be an equipment problem. I don't agree with that opinion. However, even if that is a valid argument to make, that doesn't absolve you from being responsible for part of the 4 months.
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llworking
The advice you are getting that you are not responsible is based solely on the fact that someone thinks its unreasonable for them to have taken 4 months to figure out that it might be an equipment problem. I don't agree with that opinion. However, even if that is a valid argument to make, that doesn't absolve you from being responsible for part of the 4 months.
My advice wasn't based on that. It was based on the fact that the OP had the problem fixed very quickly once he knew there was a problem.
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PayrolGuy
My advice wasn't based on that. It was based on the fact that the OP had the problem fixed very quickly once he knew there was a problem.
They would have notified him in June if they had had any idea in June that the furnace was malfunctioning.
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llworking
They would have notified him in June if they had had any idea in June that the furnace was malfunctioning.
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.
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Mark47n
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.
Re: Energy Usage Due to Hidden Malfunction
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?
Re: Energy Usage Due to Hidden Malfunction
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llworking
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.
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.
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PayrolGuy
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?
Exactly.
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L-1
If I am obligated to provide my tenants with certain items, they need to be in good working condition. If i give them a defective item and as a result, it causes the tenant to improperly incur an inordinate expense, that's on me…
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?
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PayrolGuy
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?
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.
Re: Energy Usage Due to Hidden Malfunction
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.
Re: Energy Usage Due to Hidden Malfunction
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 :).