AptKeysYour place · When something goes wrong
No heat, and using a space heater safely
You'll need
- Your landlord's repair or emergency contact
- Your phone, for photos and a thermometer reading
- A space heater that shuts off if it tips over
What to know
- Check the simple stuff first. Is the thermostat set to heat and turned up? Batteries in it? Breaker tripped? If you have a gas furnace and smell gas, leave and call the gas company from outside.
- Tell your landlord in writing today. Photos, dated written repair requests, and how long the problem has lasted are what California's tenant guide says to keep.
- Know heat is a must. California lists heating facilities in good working order as part of a habitable home. New York counts a lack of regular heat as a breach of a tenant's right to a livable home.
- Know if your city sets numbers. In New York City, from October 1 to May 31, it must be at least 68°F inside from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. when it's below 55°F outside, and at least 62°F overnight no matter the weather. Tenants report problems to 311.
- Pick a safe space heater. Look for one that shuts off automatically if it falls over, and set it on a level, hard, nonflammable surface.
- Keep it 3 feet from anything that can burn: curtains, bedding, furniture, clothes. Plug it straight into a wall outlet, not an extension cord or power strip, as the CPSC video below says.
- Turn it off when you leave the room or go to bed. Space heaters are in about 30% of home heating fires but about 73% of the deaths.
- Never heat with the oven. Never run a generator, grill or camp stove inside; generators go outdoors, away from doors, windows and vents.
Watch out Carbon monoxide has no smell. Fuel-burning heaters and furnaces that aren't working or vented right can produce it, so have a CO alarm outside each sleeping area and on every level. If it goes off, get outside and call 911.
Dad note Report it in writing the first day, and treat that space heater like a campfire: never close to anything, never left alone.