RE: Tenant complains about not getting enought heat.

[Sarah Byun]

We purchased a 3 unit investment property less than a year ago.We are now running into some hurdles.Heater was not working beginning of spring so we decided to change to gas heating from oil heating. (It costed us $6k in oil the first 3 months of winter when we took over the property)The previous owner had the 1st tenant control the thermostat and had been spending over $10k in oil every year.Now, we installed NEST to control the temperature from our phone and have invested in changing the heat to gas.

The heater has been on since the temperature has dropped to 40degrees at night.We have set it to 73 degrees.This morning I get a call from my 1st floor tenant that the heater is not working that it is too cold.I contacted my 2nd and 3rd floor tenant and they say it seems cold but they use portable electrical heater in the room to keep them warm.

We are planning on renewing the lease and need to raise the rent. The 1st floor tenant has lived there for over 12 years and paying $800 for 1 bedroom APT.Previous owner never raised her rent.She was always on time with rent but since the time we took over, she asked for favor that she can pay her rent when her SS money gets deposited to her account.So it’s been late 5 days every month.

What is the best way to deal with this situation and what is the legal temperature that we need to keep during winter?