Q: What steps are required to deal with a landlord to replace a broken water heater. Can't get any response
No hot water for 2 weeks
A:
You need to contact the landlord by writing him an actual letter. If you have a lease, there should be a section in the lease entitled “Notice” which will have the address where notices to the landlord should be sent. It may also contain other instructions such as how the letter should be sent (usually by regular mail) and information about the date the notice is considered to be received or given. Follow these instructions.
The letter should begin by giving the date of the lease and a description of the leased premises. Then explain what the problem is and when it started. Then give a date when you expect the landlord to have completed fixing the problem. The date to complete fixing the repair shouldn’t be longer than 15 business days. The letter should be polite.
Also, there should be a section in the lease entitled “Repairs” or “Maintenance” or “Landlord’s Duties” which should list what the landlord is obligated to provide, maintain, and repair. Make sure hot water or the water heater is included. The section probably states that the landlord has no duty to make repairs unless he receives written notice from the tenant of the need for a repair and may say how many days landlord has to complete the repair. If it has the number of days, put this timeframe in your letter instead, along with a reference to this section of the lease.
If you have no written lease, send him the same letter without the references to the repair section of the lease. Send the letter to the address you otherwise use to contact the landlord or pay rent (unless he uses a rent payment service).
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