.
(I don?t know if you read the Jersey Journal (JJ) , check this story out. Show it to your landlord if he doesn?t move on fixing your heating situation. Tell him you are calling the city or the JJ. Good luck)

** ***

Tenants in Jersey City 3-family may be warm for first time since storm
By Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal
on December 01, 2012 at 3:00 AM

??.
I think that things are moving in the right way and I think your newspaper article has helped ensure that things go the right way,? said Mark Redfield, assistant director for Housing Code Enforcement.

The new boiler was being installed late yesterday afternoon, Redfield said, adding he hoped PSE&G would be there last night to turn on the heat.

Redfield has been sending inspectors to the building every day to document conditions ?for the daily fines and penalties.?

Redfield said the city issued summonses to the building owner, Aaron Puritz, on Nov. 22 for the lack of heat and hot water. As a result, fines of up to $1,250 per day for each of three apartments are adding up. A 90-day jail term is possible, too. Puritz must appear in Jersey City Municipal Court on Dec. 13 at 1 p.m.
?..

Full JJ piece?.


http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index ... _jersey_city_3-famil.html


PS ? yeah like Brewster said it sounds like the furnace is shot.

I guess what bothers me just as much is the unresponsiveness.

I think i'd be more tolerable if he actually replied to me and said, "i'm sorry, i know this is a problem, i am doing what i can...etc etc.."

Just knowing he was actually trying to do something, would be a little better.

Seems to me if there's water dripping on the pilot the boiler is likely shot. There should be no water there!! It can only get there through a corrosion hole in the cast iron. If this is the case, it just may be the landlord can't get a somebody to replace it right now. Sandy was a terrific jobs program for all contractors, but plumbers especially, as so many thousands of basement boilers were flooded. It can be tough getting a plumber to call you back in normal times, I can't imagine what it's like now.

Suggest that he bend a piece of sheet metal to build a little roof over the pilot, as a temporary measure.

If you are looking for a space heater I have this one and it works great. Not too expensive either.

http://www.amazon.com/Optimus-H-5210- ... 8-9&keywords=space+heater

Ugh, this is a terrible battle to fight. As a past "warrior" keep basic records (dates and longevity) of your days without heat. Don't even give your landlord a break if he doesn't fix the heat tomorrow. His responsibility is to fix that immediately OR provide you with a remedy (reduced rent, paid space heaters) to make sure you are comfortable. Four days without heat is inexcusable.

I had a landlord that did this to me through a horribly long and freezing winter. I ended up breaking my lease and taking them to court when he held my security as a penalty.

I had records to show that there was an unresolved no-heat issue and I won. I didn't call the no-heat hotline and I really should have.

Here's a good link for tenant's rights:

TENANT'S RIGHTS - REFER TO HABITABILITY

yeah, i WISH he paid for the heat.

He has finally replied after i said i'd call the emergency heat hotline. Thanks for that tip. He says it is getting fixed tomorrow so we shall see.

That sucks ...

In case the landlord pays for your electricity - rare case, but possible - buy a space heater, particularly one that is oil based. They cost $50. They are notoriously inefficient and expensive ... Running it for a few days might add a good 10-15 to the electrical bill ... Approx $100/month per unit is the added cost. A couple of weeks of that will surely give he landlord the incentive to "improve" ...

Ah i see. Thanks for the info.

It is an ancient boiler that he has fixed 3 or 4 times since the beginning of November. Problem is he is not fixing the main problem (water dripping on the pilot light). He just puts in a new pilot light which is pointless because it just ends up like all the others . He knows this 'fix' will last a week at most, but it is cheaper for him, so that is all that matters, i guess.

For me, this cheap fixing means a few days here and there where i have no heat at all. Now that it is getting colder these 'no-heat' days are not pleasant at all.

Now it's day number 4, and he will not reply to me at all. Maybe in the hopes that i will buy a space-heater and stop trying to contact him.

Quote:
^This.
My old landlord pulled something similar, we called the Emergency Heat Hotline.
They open a file for you (which can help you and other tenants in the future) and assign you a case worker. The case worker calls your landlord and lets your landlord know they have been notified. The case worker sets up an appointment to come look at your thermostat, check the heat, etc. If it's not on, or it's too low, your landlord has five days (although I might be wrong about the amount of days - I think our landlord had been a repeat offender) to fix it or they get fined.

I would not recommend trying to withhold rent.

Also, was it working before, and now it's just broken? Or was it not turned on in the first place?

If your landlord is not complying, you may file a complaint with the Division of Housing Code Enforcement's 24 hour emergency heat hotline at (201) 547-4821 or enter a complaint online. You may also send an e-mail message to housingcode@jcnj.org

http://mygovhelp.com/JERSEYCITYNJ/_cs ... lB=&sFilC=&KEY=landlord&=

The heat in my apartment has now been off for 3 days straight. Landlord says it will be fixed, but is shying away from actually giving me a date, and is doing the whole elusive thing.

I just wanted to check with those out there with more experience in this arena, what my rights are as a tenant with no heat.

Is it fair to 'ask' for a discount in rent for each day of no heat?