Is my landlord liable to provide a freezer for breast milk?

Question

We rent in a condo building in Boston. Our fridge/freezer stopped working on Friday (6/10). A technician came out Saturday but didn’t have the part to fix it. He is planning to come 6/14 with the part to fix it.

we have a 5 mo old who is exclusively breastfed and had 5 months worth of frozen breast milk. My main concern was saving the milk. The PM had us place it in the shared freezer of the building.

When dropping my baby off at daycare I noticed the frozen milk had thawed and is no longer good. (Once the milk is thawed it’s only good for 4 hrs and then must be tossed) That means the temperature of the freezer is not cold enough and all of the milk must be thrown away.

now, I have to pick up my son and have him with me all day so I can feed him. It’s interfering with my work plus the loss cost of daycare.

the lease says the landlord must make things livable. I would argue that not being able to store my sons only source of food, and with the current formula shortage we aren’t able to pick up any formula. Also, I’m not able to store any breast milk so my only option is to have him with me while I work and feed him.

Do we have any legal rights in this situation? On Saturday the landlord did agree to deduct $250 from our rent but is there anything else we can reasonably ask for? Reimbursement of child care? I’m at a lost.

E.S. Burrell · Answer

Call the United Way or a local church and ask for help. Your LL was a gem and did all he could. It’s not his fault. You appear to be ungrateful.

Tony Kim · Answer

Any legal rights? Wow, this is why America is the most litigious country in the world. LL offered you a good faith rebate of $250 and now you're posting on a forum to see if you can take legal action? Sorry, but you're not going to get any sympathy from anyone here.  Might want to try posting this on Twitter... then you might get some folks to share in this outrage.

John Underwood · Answer

The Landlord called for repair and parts had to be ordered. They told you of another storage location that you used.

Did you check to make sure the new location was cold enough?

The Landlord did everything he could he can't control when an appliance breaks.

He even went above and beyond to give  you give you a rent deduction which you could have used to find an alternate solution.

You could have checked with friends, family or coworkers for help. You could have bought a standalone freezer. You have some responsibility in this.

Tim Miller · Answer

The LL did everything he could have done. He even gave you $250 off next months rent (more than I would have). You could have easily used that money to buy a mini freezer from Lowes or Home Depot. Even Amazon could have shipped one next day for $263.

What if the power goes out and all your food spoils? Who will you expect to replace all the food? Your LL? The power company? Neither one is going to and this is where you need to be better prepared.

John Burtle · Answer

I’m speechless you’re trying pin this on the landlord. Wow…

It sounds like he went above and beyond. I’m getting the vibe you’re wanting to sue him and take as much as you can from him.

Stuff happens. A landlord can’t control everything 24/7 365. The PM gave you an alternative. Did you check to make sure the freezer worked before putting the formula in the shared freezer? Did you check to see what the freezer setting was turned to before placing it in said freezer?

Probably not.

If the milk was that important you wouldn’t be depending on one freezer. Who are you going to blame when the power goes out for an extended time?

Take some responsibility…

Theresa Harris · Answer

I'd say no because he provided you with an alternate option that he thought worked. If it was your own house and the fridge broke, what would you have done? Call around and see if there is a milk bank where you can get some milk to hold you over.  Also look into getting your own small freezer.

Matt Devincenzo · Answer

No, the landlord is responsible for providing livable housing not ensuring that there never anything that goes wrong. Also a choice to send him to daycare and work therefor needing to freeze milk isn't a reflection on the livability of the unit. I absolutely understand the concern and frustration on your part, but it sounds like the LL is being responsive and trying to offer solutions etc. Which really is the best anyone can do with this.

Karissa Sampson · Answer

No. Landlord response seems appropriate. A 4 day turnaround time to repair the freezer is very reasonable. You could use the $250 savings on rent to buy a small stand alone freezer for future storage and that would free up your normal freezer space for adult food. That being said, I empathize with the loss of so much breast milk and wish you the best.

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

No. He did everything by the book. If your son has a special condition (or is this your preference?) where he can't feed on formula or similar, then I don't see how that's the landlord's problem.

Or you could've rented a hotel room for the duration and sent him the bill (which he may or may not pay)

Jill F. · Answer

@Katie Bustos If you couldn't get one, your ll probably couldn't either. If the problem isn't yet resolved, you might try rent-a-center. Rent a small freezer with the rent deduction they will deliver and pick-up usually they are pretty quick. I keep a small spare loaner fridge but I have a fair number of units, people with just a few might not be able to do that. Things that are usually not a problem seem to be a problem now with supply chain issues.

Is my landlord liable to provide a freezer for breast milk?

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