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  1. #1

    Default Is Hot Water A Legal Requirement?

    Hi there-

    My roommate and I have just moved into a recently refurbished, generally very nice third foor apartment in Chicago, IL. One problem we have with the place is that the hot water is inconsistent. Here are some details:

    -There is a shower/bath, a bathroom sink and a kitchen sink.
    -The two sinks *never* get hot water unless, oddly, we run the hot water through the shower/tub for five to ten minutes. Then the two sinks produce hot water for a while. But if we come back later we'll have to run the shower again.
    -As for the shower/tub, later in the day it only takes a few minutes to get hot, but in the morning it can take as long as twenty minutes, or it may never get hot.

    According to the building manager, in the mornings everyone is using hot water and the boiler runs low.

    However, I spoke to one of the lower-ranking utility men working for my landlord and he says that the building is very old (true) and needs extensive plumbing work inside all the walls (I'll take his word on this one) and that our landlord isn't going to pay for a job of that magnitude.

    My question is: Does our hot water problem violate any kind of municipal code? Is my landlord required to provide us with hot water from all outlets whenever we want it, or does the inconsistent hot water we have fulfill his legal obligation?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Posts
    2,652

    Default Re: Is Hot Water A Legal Requirement?

    http://www.illinois-attorney.com/110.htm

    Make sure you read the bottom portion of the link provided.

  3. #3

    Default Re: Is Hot Water A Legal Requirement?

    Thanks for the link, Happy Trails. Allow me a follow-up:

    According to the site, my landlord is legally obligated "to provide heat or hot water in such amounts and at such levels and times as required by the municipal code". What are those amounts, levels and times? Are they somewhere at that same link?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Posts
    2,652

    Default Re: Is Hot Water A Legal Requirement?

    I could not find a definition at that link.

    I did find some information, but nothing on what is required by the municipal code for the hot water issue. Just that it is essential.

    I would guess that it means it needs to be reasonable, which from what you say it isn't.

    to provide heat or hot water in such amounts and at such levels and times as required by the municipal code
    The "times" in the above reference, I believe would pertain to the heating requirement. For example:

    The Chicago Municipal Code states that, from September 15 of each year to June 1 of the following year, the temperature in your apartment must be at least:
    68 degrees from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
    66 degrees for all other times.
    There is a number in the below information that may be helpful if you do not have success getting your landlord to fix the condition.

    LACK OF ESSENTIAL SERVICES

    If your landlord fails to supply essential services, contact your landlord immediately. Essential services include heat, running water, hot water, electricity, gas, and plumbing. Also contact your landlord immediately if conditions become an immediate danger to health and safety. If your landlord’s response to either situationis not helpful, report the problem to the City’s complaint line at (312) 744-5000.

    The City responds quickly to complaints about the lack of essential services. The Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance also provides you with some things you can do yourself to alleviate the problem. For example, you may obtain reasonable amounts of heat, water, etc., or find alternative housing at the landlord’s expense. Follow these guidelines to protect yourself in case your landlord decides to attempt legal action.

     You must give the landlord written notice of the problem stating the essential services that are lacking. The type of notice and manner of service shouldfollow the guidelines given in the previous chapter. It must be done in a manner reasonably calculated to prove the landlord received the notice.

     You may get a space heater, bottled water, or other reasonable replacement foran essential service and deduct the cost from your rent. You must keep thereceipts and provide copies to your landlord when you make the deductions.

     If conditions force you to find substitute housing, you are excused frompaying rent for as long as the lack of essential services exists. Also, you are entitled to recover the cost of substitute housing from you landlord in a lawsuit as long as it does not exceed your monthly rent. Consult an attorneyprior to exercising this remedy. The Ordinance does not entitle you to deduct the cost of substitute housing from future rent, and the law requires you to mitigate damages, meaning to keep the cost as low as possible.

     If the problem is not corrected within 24 hours from the time you gave thenotice to the landlord, you have the right to withhold an amount from the rentthat reflects the reduced value of the apartment. (We advise you to keep these estimates conservative.)

     If the problem is not corrected with 72 hours of the receipt of the written notice, you may legally terminate your lease agreement. Once this is done you must move out within 30 days.
    ---------

    I also found a tenant hotline number in this link below:

    http://www.tenants-rights.org/index.php?page=heat

    Possible they will have more answers then what I can find online.

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