Adjacent rowhome under construction; tenant electric bills soar

[Calvin Douglass]

One of my rental properties is a 2-bed 1-bath rowhome in the Canton neighborhood of Baltimore, MD. The home commands $1800 per month in rent.

One of the adjacent (attached) rowhomes is under renovation and has been open to the environment for weeks. The owners of the other adjacent home have been on an extended vacation (and have left their air conditioning set to 85 Fahrenheit).

A few weeks ago, my tenants called me saying that their AC can't maintain setpoint--I assured them that this is normal as both demising walls are currently exposed to elevated temperatures. I got a call from my tenants last week saying that their electric bill was $385--my tenants are very distressed. Looking at property records, I'm seeing that the highest electric bill in the last 5 years was $188...

Any advise as to how I should handle this? I'd like to lean on the neighboring properties to help out with the electric bills, but that's not likely to go anywhere. How can I keep my tenants happy without reaching into my pocket?