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?

