Did you know Plainfield has heat regulations in the Municipal Code?
The untimely drop in temperature made Plaintalker think it was worth reviewing, and now that City Clerk Abubakar Jalloh has put the whole Municipal Code online, it was easy to look it up and copy the text.
Many tenants and especially many landlords think there is no requirement to provide heat until Oct. 15, but the Code proves otherwise, if the conditions warrant it. Right now we are looking at the Fall part, but the May 1 ending is also important because here again, a lot of people think April 15 is the cut-off. Having no heat in an early or late cold snap is hard on the elderly or those with medical conditions that affect their ability to tolerate cold.
Our former landlord used to cite his own harsh household rules whenever we would ask about the heat. Well, you can keep your private home as cold as you want and tell your family to put on more sweaters, but adequate heat is one of the reasons why tenants pay the big bucks for rent.
The next time a landlord says, "I keep my thermostat at 60 degrees," remind him that the city has rules for rental property.
Except as hereinafter stated, from May 1 to October 1, every dwelling unit, rooming unit, bathroom and water closet compartment shall be maintained at a temperature of sixty-eight degrees Fahrenheit (68°F) during the daytime hours from six (6:00) a.m. in the morning and eleven (11:00) p.m. in the evening whenever the outside temperature falls below fifty-five degrees Fahrenheit (55°F). At times other than those specified, interiors of units of dwelling space shall be maintained at least at sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit (65°F) whenever the outside temperature falls below forty degrees Fahrenheit (40°F)
--Bernice
Thank you, Bernice. I thought it was this and I can share this with the tenants in my building.
ReplyDeleteBob
My landlord is lucky...both my neighbor and I share the love of a chilly sleep environment..we ask him to turn the thermostat down into the low 60's between 11PM and 5AM....at 5AM though..love hearing those pipes clank and clink as they heat up!
ReplyDelete