Tenant calls , they are out of heating oil. Will I get in trouble if I winterize ?

Question

My tenant of 2 years calls ( fair tenant , not good not bad ) they tell me they are out of oil . And they cant afford another $ 400 for 100 gallons . He wants me to fill it and pay me back . I tell him thats not going to happen , I dont lend money .I give him a number for energy assistance . He calls me 2 hours later and says that first he doesnt qualify , and second they are out of money . He says he has an electric heater . I explain to him that he needs to heat , the bathroom , the kitchen , the laundry room and the crawl space . To prevent the pipes from freezing . " I cant heat all that" I told him he must get oil by tomorrow 5 pm somehow ,somewhere , or I will have to kill the water and winterize the house . Read the lease , it clearly states that if there is no heat from , lack of electric or fuel due to tenant not paying the bill the landlord will turn off the water and winterize the pipes to protect the property 55 degrees minimum . If you cant afford $ 400 for oil , how can you pay for frozen pipes and water damage ? I will be there 5 pm to restart the furnace or to winterize the pipes . He says he will try .

Am I wrong for shutting off water and winterizing at that point ?

Matthew Paul · Answer

Problem is solved , the oil companies have a 100 gallon minimum . But he came up with enough money for 50 gallons , he paid me in cash and I called a friend of mine with a oil co and he said no problem , but I had to drive the truck since he would lose money if he paid his driver (overtime)

Phil Z. · Answer

Fill the tank and start eviction process as soon as the law allows ..

Charlie Hampton · Answer

I agree with @Aaron Alyea

Think of the costs associated with bringing in a plumber. Also costs associated with possible flooding.  I would personally bring a few 5 gallon containers of diesel every now and then until the eviction process was over.

Steve Babiak · Answer

You might have another problem.  When the oil tank runs empty, all the sludge at the bottom of the tank gets into the heating system.  Things can get clogged (especially the filter) and the heating system may not function.

John Rooster · Answer

Many years ago a guy in foreclosure that had his gas turned off taught me that keeping the water on a trickle will keep the pipes from freezing.

Aaron Alyea · Answer

I hate to say it…  Those actions may result in a lawsuit.  Home repairs resulting from the lack of adequate heating could be an even greater cost.  It is a no win situation.  Cut your losses, get them out!

Joel Owens · Answer

If you cut the water you would create unsanitary conditions and livability issues for the tenant. This could be seen as a self help eviction.

What is the typical usage per day for oil and what is the lowest amount of gallons the truck will deliver? I certainly wouldn't do 100. If 2 gallons are used a day then see if they would deliver 30 or something.

First see what the minimum is and then tell the tenant the truck will deliver less at XX gallons and that the tenant might have to pay for multiple trips if they can't afford 400 today. So for example 50 gallons at 200 and then 2 weeks from now 50 gallons at 200. The oil company might only make deliveries for a full tank order so would have to check.

Start eviction as a violation of the lease.

The landlords with these oil tanks have you thought about as part of the lease requiring an upfront escrow account before move in for the oil? For example if the average usage is 200 a month which is higher some months and lower others then you would collect 2,400 upfront with the lease.

I don't know just throwing things out there. There was another landlord posting on here the other day with the exact same issue.

No legal advice.

James Wise · Answer

That is a tough one to be in. I think your going to have to pay for the oil & try to get the money from the tenant later on. I can see turning off the utilities going really badly for you.

Rob K. · Answer

I had something similar happen years ago. A tenant that I inherited had been stealing gas. The gas meter was locked and they cut the lock off. The gas company was going to pull the meter out in January. My plan was to turn the water off and winterized the house. The tenants ended up paying the bill at the last minute, but my concern was a burst pipe.

I'm not sure as to the legalities of it all. My thinking was that it's common sense if a structure is unheated, pipes will burst and make life even worse for the tenant.

I would probably buy about 50 gallons of oil and bill the tenant and start eviction.

I can't believe anyone still heats with oil. I cringe when I see propane tanks and oil is even worse.

Matthew Paul · Answer

What I need to invent is a valve for the water main that when the temp goes below 40 degrees automatically turns off the water and at 50 turns it on , and then have auto drains on the low points that open up at 2 psi and close at 10 psi . ( those are available)   Have it tied in with an annoying alarm like a smoke detector .