rental laws

[mae]

I just found out that in the apt. i rent my hot water tank is also supplying hot water to another apt. and I pay the heat and hot water here...any suggestions on where to complain?

[SmartBusiness]

I just found out that in the apt. i rent my hot water tank is also supplying hot water to another apt. and I pay the heat and hot water here...any suggestions on where to complain?
You would be best to try to work out an arrangement with the landord.

a) Are you absolutely sure your hot water heater is supplying another apt? Who told you? If this is the case take pictures of the heater/outgoing feeds.

b) Calculate what you think you are owed. You can call the gas or electric company and they will tell you what the average monthly cost is for the water heater you have. Multiply this by the # of months you've been there, and divide in half. This is a starting point.

c) Speak with your landlord in a friendly businesslike manner. Ask him to deduct what your owed from future rent, and ask him to make arrangements to install a separate hot water heater for the other apt. If he does not want to install a new tank, he can re-route the existing tank to his meter and you can pay him a flat rate every month.

If the landlord is uncooperative and not willing to do anything, you may need to file a claim in either Housing Court or Small Claims. Be aware however, that unless you have a lease, you'll probably be evicted. If you are a month-to-month renter you can be evicted for any reason, or no reason.

Your best course of action is to try to resolve the issue in a friendly manner with the landlord. Otherwise you could call the Massachusetts Housing Court and they will tell you how to file a claim. 617-788-8485 There is a Housing Court on Rock St. in Fall River. If you are forced to go this route, ask the clerk if Massachusetts Chapter 93A applies to Housing Court issues. Chapter 93A allows you to ask for 3 times the amount due you under the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Laws. If 93A applies, you need to send your landlord a certified letter asking him for payment, and letting him know that you will be filing a claim for 3 times the amount due under Chapter 93A unless he pay's within 30 days.

[mae]

first off thank you so much for the info......I am not able to trace the pipes as it's a basement apt and they are in the cement floor...my neighbor and my bathrooms are back to back...normally it takes a good 5 minutes of water running for it to reach my faucet hot...but when my neighbor showers next door I can hear it and the water is instantly hot at my faucet...so I'm pretty confident about this

[SmartBusiness]

I can hear it and the water is instantly hot at my faucet...so I'm pretty confident about this

Well...the only thing I can recommend to know for sure.. is to turn the outgoing feed "off" from your water heater for a day. Maybe if your going out for the day or something like that. If your neighbor has no hot water, and someone turns yours back on, you'll know for sure. Otherwise you can just shut off the power to the water heater from the breaker, maybe at night before you go to bed, and leave it off all next day. See if anybody complains, or resets your heater breaker.