chesterton_fan

All,

I've been meaning to post this some time. We rented a house in October, and switched the heating on in November. Before it starting getting really cold, we had it inspected. I'm glad we did, because we found it was leaking carbon monoxide into the house. Not in great quantities (our CO alarms didn't go off), but it would have got worse over time, and even a little bit is too much.

Fortunately the landlord replaced it immediately, which is good because we're running it heavily in this cold weather. I hate to think what would have happened if we hadn't had it inspected.

I've no idea when it was last checked. We are the first family to live here in several years -- previously it was young professionals or students, who I suppose wouldn't normally think of that sort of thing like a dad would

So for renters out there, be aware: in NC, and no doubt in some other states, your landlord is not required to have the heating inspected annually, unlike the UK. So do it yourself. It's not worth the risk. If it's found to be faulty, your landlord needs to replace it.

If you're a homeowner, I imagine you had it done as part of your home inspection, so it's probably less of an issue. Even so, I would do it every year.

CF

tom169

Interesting. Didn't know that about renting.

Our furnace is on overdrive right now with the cold front. I'm getting pretty tired of it.

KK85

Thank you for this - you have inspired me to get ours checked.

Very glad that you dodged a potential bullet there.

petitefrancaise

who told you that it was not the responsibility of your landlord to maintain the heating system? Having carbon monoxide leaking into the house would definitely contravene the "implied warrant of habitability" legislatation.

Rete

I thought this was going to be a thread about space heaters. So you are talking about either a furnace or a boiler by which a private home is heated and in some cases air conditioned. I occasionally forget this is a British forum ... silly me.

Our home furnace is inspected annually. As is our water heater. We're powered by gas so CM emissions are very important.

You raise an excellent point for renters of private residences.

Rete

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclope...hapter7-2.html

Your right to livable housing has a lofty-sounding legal name: You’re ­entitled to the benefit of the landlord’s “implied warranty of habit­ability.” This means that, whether she knows it or not, your landlord has promised you a livable place simply by renting it to you. This basic right originated in court decisions in the early 1970s. By now, all but one state (Arkansas) has embraced this notion, either by decision from their highest court or by statute.

 And even in Arkansas, some cities and counties have enacted ordinances that come close to establishing the same standards.

So what does it mean to say that your landlord is expected to fulfill an implied warranty of habitability? It means that the property owner must:

•keep basic structural elements of the building, including floors, stairs, walls, and roofs, safe and intact 

•maintain all common areas, such as hallways and stairways, in a safe and clean condition

•keep electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems and elevators operating safely

•supply cold and hot water and heat in reasonable amounts at reasonable times

•provide trash receptacles and arrange for trash pick-up

•manage known environmental toxins such as lead paint dust and asbestos so that they don’t pose a significant danger

•in most states, provide rental property that is reasonably safe from the threat of foreseeable criminal intrusions, and

•exterminate infestations of rodents and other vermin.
 In virtually every state, these rights are yours, no matter what the landlord has asked you to sign or agree to. (In narrow situations, landlords and tenants in Texas and Maine can agree that certain habitability requirements will be the responsibility of the tenant.) In other words, the landlord cannot shrug off these responsibilities in a “disclaimer” when the tenancy begins. And he can’t effectively ask you to waive your right to them. (Any so-called waiver will not be upheld by a court.)



So while your warning is necessary and warranted, some of the information is not actually fact.

scrubbedexpat091

I took the warning as inspections not being required by law not that a landlord isnt required to fix or maintain.

Seems the landlord once made aware of the issue fixed it.