Landlord or slumlord?

Thanks, @broadwayBK! I am definitely surprised to see that the West Village and Lower East Side - two districts I'd definitely live in - are on that list. How unfortunate!

Oh, cool! I've heard about this list, so good that they publicly shame these people...

Yeah, I have to agree that it is pretty awesome...

@BroadwayBK that it is pretty cool, the landlords walk of shame.. he he wonder if being exposed like this will influence their behavior at all?

@uptowngirl Probably not! Oh well, at least we know which buildings they are abusing.

@BroadwayBk Just came across another wretched Landlord in NYC story apparently this guy turns off the heat every night and we all know how bad the winter has been this year. What a creep.
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/02/08/brooklyn-tenant-landlord-shuts-off-heat-every-night/

@uptowngirl Does that mean it's cheaper not to provide heat than to get fined for not providing heat....?

@BroadwayBK that's what i understood as well but its brutal.. in London the mother in law shuts off the heat at night mainly because she is scared of carbon monoxide poisoning. She is used to sleeping the cold and claims she is all toasty in her duvet..when i stay there in the winters I am miserable and have to sleep with a hot water bottle as I am so used to the furnace like atmosphere in my NYC apartment so I can relate with this poor lady's complaint.

@uptowngirl What a nightmare! I cannot sleep in any extreme temps, hot or cold.

@BroadwayBK that's what i understood as well but its brutal.. in London the mother in law shuts off the heat at night mainly because she is scared of carbon monoxide poisoning. She is used to sleeping the cold and claims she is all toasty in her duvet..when i stay there in the winters I am miserable and have to sleep with a hot water bottle as I am so used to the furnace like atmosphere in my NYC apartment so I can relate with this poor lady's complaint.

@BroadwayBK Also as this lady says the inspectors only visit during the day so don't know about the heat situation so in all probability the landlord doesn't even get fined!

So, unrelated to the issue but related obliquely to the idea - someone started a website called "Don't Date Him Girl" I found it by accident. Women post their bad experiences with skanky men, they name names, post pictures, and warn other women against going out with these men. I wasn't sure this was at all legal - I mean, there must be some defamation issues? Then I went to get the website just now and the whole thing had been taken down. Interesting.

And, related to the issue, it's so rare that a slummy landlord ever gets punished for making life miserable for so many people.

@Uraniumfish The site is still there - it just doesn't hold up well to a lot of traffic it seems. I hate the layout of the site; it looks like something I made in 7th grade with AOL web design tools.

@uptowngirl Yeah, like Uraniumfish says it does seem like landlords get away with things more often than not.

The one thing the list does, is it exposes the landlord as slumlords. Some landlords don't like that stigma, while others don't care. As long as they have tenants who pay their rent, they don't care. Many of the tenants are on section 8. So the landlord gets paid a percentage of the rent automatically. The tenants that have to pay full rent, they can't afford to move so they are stuck in that situation. How sad.

So wait, is there nothing these poor heatless people can do? It seems like they ought to be able to with hold rent . . .

Oh, Don't Date Him Girl! It could have been such a great idea but the execution was lacking, alas. Although I like to think that my friends and I practice a verbal form of it.

@JenMac They could, they'd just have to prove they'd had no heat to a judge when the landlord drags them to court for nonpayment....

@ajadedidealist My thoughts exactly!

@BroadwayBK so true ....

@Everyone The landlord's turning off the heat issue has now reached Bloomberg

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/02/09/no-relief-in-sight-for-tenants-in-heat-less-home/

@Everyone are electric heaters sold in the US? does anyone know? the reason I ask is that my apartment in HK even with its huge rental doesnt come with central heat and if its 40F outside it seems the same indoors. We like most Hong Kongers invested in a few small electric heaters and placed them in all rooms and they were quite adequate. Was wondering if this could be a viable solution since apparently it seems not all landlords are being cruel they just dont have the money to provide heat given the high prices of oil and the rising property taxes.

@uptown: they do sell them here. I used to have one, and, yeah, they do work quite well.

@JenMac Then that would be a solution of sorts wouldn't it? anyway tenants pay for their own power isn't it? The landlord doesn't have to be involved of course they should get a rebate on the rental then.

@uptowngirl @JenMac Many of the newer apartment buildings I've viewed have central heat and air systems, but the rents don't tend to reflect the difference in costs to a landlord. AC and heat do a number on the electric bill, so rent should definitely be lower for more reasons than one.

Yeah, that's the problem with the electric heaters in lieu of the heat that your landlord refuses to employ: it's gonna cost the tenant an arm and a leg and heat should be free.

I talked to my lawyer out of curiosity, because we had trouble with the heat as well once a few days back. He told me that if any tenant lives in an apartment building, the landlord is ordered by law to supply heat. That is a requirement. If he doesn't, he could be cited, fined, and maybe even arrested. Until such a situation occurs, the tenant could purchase an electric heater. Then keep all the electric bills, and compare them with past bills. Then if the tenant goes to court over it, show the judge the electric bills. This way the judge can see for himself how much more money the tenant paid because of no heat. He will force the landlord to deduct that amount from the rent.

I went through this before. It is rather disheartening to know that a landlord will act so shamefully with regard to his own tenants.

Also, the tenant can call the city at 311 and report no heat. The city will make arrangements for the tenant to get heat.

@hhusted there have been a spate of complaints about no heat this year but have we heard of any landlord getting arrested?

@uptowngirl I don't think it's a criminal offense. Just a civil issue.

@BroadwayBk aah youre right but its pretty cruel

@Everyone its seems that no heat is a common complaint this winter this time around in East Harlem.
http://www.dnainfo.com/20110222/harlem/east-harlem-tenants-protest-lack-of-heat-hot-water

@Everyone its seems that no heat is a common complaint this winter this time around in East Harlem.
http://www.dnainfo.com/20110222/harlem/east-harlem-tenants-protest-lack-of-heat-hot-water

Knowing NYC winters that's just terrifying! I get cold/bothered when my timed heater in Oxford turns itself off in the middle of the night...

@ajadedidealist I know how uncomfortable that feels!

I guess I can't complain about not having heat, but I often sleep with my window open since the rudimentary radiator in my room heats things up a little too much.

@BroadwayBK same story here as well..we usually turn off the radiator in our bedroom in NYC for the heat that emits from it is quite intense.

Speaking of sleeping with the windows open, it's been so lovely all day that I think I'll be able to do that tonightand have fresh air. Yay.

So jealous! I spent last night shivering and trying desperately to get heat from my boyfriend (by leaping on top of him mid-slumber)....oh England!