Q: I live in a market-rate apartment in the Bronx, and there has been no gas in the entire building for the past five months. I need gas for cooking. I am withholding my rent, and I’ve called in complaints to 311, but we have no progress. The landlord has no legitimate answer for why this is happening. What are my rights, and what should we do?
A: Regardless of which type of apartment you live in, not having gas for cooking is a violation of the city’s warranty of habitability. Landlords are required to act to restore gas immediately once service is disrupted, according to the city’s Housing Preservation and Development department.
But be prepared to wait. Depending on the reason for the shut-off — it’s often the result of a detected leak in a building’s gas line — restoring service can take a long time, especially in larger buildings.
If you’ve called 311 to file a complaint with HPD but an inspector hasn’t come to document the problem, keep calling. Be sure to schedule a time when you will be home, to ensure a proper inspection. If you’re not home, the inspector is supposed to leave a note with a phone number for code enforcement, so you can call back.
The inspector can issue a violation to the landlord, and possibly fines. The violation will confirm there is no gas, which can be helpful if you need to bring legal action against your landlord.
It gives the tenant a formal way to say to the landlord, “You found out about this on a specific date,” said Zoe Kheyman, a staff attorney at the Bronx housing office of the Legal Aid Society.
If a violation and fines do not bring action, you can file what’s known as an HP proceeding in Bronx housing court. It will focus on repairs (not any rent money you might have withheld) and is designed so that you can represent yourself. You will have to mail legal papers to your landlord when you file. If you can’t afford the filing fee, you can apply for assistance.
In the meantime, you and your neighbors should ask your landlord to provide hot plates as an alternate way to cook. Also, Ms. Kheyman advised keeping receipts from any expenses incurred from this outage, including restaurant checks or increased electricity use. The receipts could help in your negotiations for a rent discount.
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