Tenant question

Submitted by jumpergirl05 t3_1012lvo in RhodeIsland

Hi there everyone!šŸ˜Š. A couple of months ago I got my own apartment in Rhode Island. Which I was very excited for/ still am. This is my first place really on my own fully(22 yrs old) and I have a few questions Iā€™m hoping you guys can answer. Firstly I pay for oil heat which has obviously been shockingly expensive to me since this is my first time doing this. in my lease which Iā€™m not sure if this matters or not but I am renting from a guy that owns this house not a apartment complex/manager. It says that I pay for heat but he pays for the hot water but the hot water is there only by oilā€¦ So technically arenā€™t I paying for the hot water?. Then I have a close friend who is a property manager in the state and she told me the landlord tenant law states that the landlord has to pay for the hot water. Iā€™m just trying to confirm if that is true or not secondly, he told me that in the lease it states that I have to be signed up for automatic oil refill so I obviously went and re read the lease Top to bottom and itā€™s not stated anywhere in the leaseā€¦ So then do I need to be signed up for it? I havenā€™t said anything to him or made a big deal Iā€™m just simply trying to confirm Thank you!

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fishythepete t1_j2mjot8 wrote

>I have a close friend who is a property manager in the state and she told me the landlord tenant law states that the landlord has to pay for the hot water. Iā€™m just trying to confirm if that is true or not

Your friend is wrong. As a tenant in RI, you should start by reading the RI Landlord Tenant Handbook. This answers almost any question that arises for most tenants. Hot water must be provided for a residence to be habitable, but does not need to be paid by the landlord. Iā€™d need to see the page in question to give a better answer on if the landlord has taken on an obligation to pay for it. Also, are you sure the water heater is oil fired and not electric?

>secondly, he told me that in the lease it states that I have to be signed up for automatic oil refill so I obviously went and re read the lease Top to bottom and itā€™s not stated anywhere in the leaseā€¦ So then do I need to be signed up for it? I havenā€™t said anything to him or made a big deal Iā€™m just simply trying to confirm

If itā€™s not in the lease youā€™re not legally obligated to. You are, however, obligated to pay for damages that might occur if you run out of oil and pipes freeze and then burst. Unless you absolutely cannot afford it, sign up for auto delivery. Especially if itā€™s your first time maintaining a home through the winter. Easy to look at what you burned over a week like last week and think youā€™re good to go for a bit and then run out during a cold snap.

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PJfanRI t1_j2lnknx wrote

Your lease calls out hot water exclusively? I've never heard of a lease saying the landlord covers hot water. Are you sure it doesn't say that it covers water?

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jumpergirl05 OP t1_j2loef9 wrote

Yes, in my lease it has a check next to hot water and next to running water that the landlord pays. But as stated I pay for oil heat which makes the water hot. Also was told landlords in RI are required to provide hot water

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godmode33 t1_j2mi69o wrote

Yeah they def are NOT required to pay for anything. Some offer it in the lease as an incentive or amenity but there is no requirement saying they have to pay any utility. If he offered it in the lease as "hot water included in rent" then he is obligated to pay for the hot water. But to start thinking there is some unspoken blanket rule that every landlord must do this is just not correct.

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Nevvermind183 t1_j2otbtw wrote

Does it say running water or hot water?

Also, you could have electric hot water heater.

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NoellaChel t1_j307cw8 wrote

That is what I was thinking hot water is separate

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cojwa t1_j2nlq0e wrote

The only things landlords are required to pay is for sewage if connected to the sewer line and for domestic cold water. If you wanna heat it up thatā€™s on you to pay.

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fishythepete t1_j2o2w74 wrote

Nope. Landlord is only required to pay if there is no sub-metering.

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canibringmydog t1_j2mfdib wrote

Where I live, utilities are split between units based on occupancy and square footage. Your landlord may have an equation where he pays X% of the bill. We also have oil, gas and electric. The gas heats the water. We donā€™t pay for water, but we do pay for the gas. The way utilities were explained to me is the landlord doesnā€™t have to pay for heat or hot water, they just have to make it available.

The splitting utilities is called RUBs, ratio utility billing system and itā€™s only legal bc itā€™s not explicitly illegal. Itā€™s stupid, and I personally hate it.

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Loveroffinerthings t1_j2nnpyl wrote

Iā€™d hate this, Iā€™d be judging my neighbors that run their AC at 60, and turn the heat up in the winter šŸ˜‚

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anxiousinfotech t1_j2n4q1e wrote

My building bills this way too, but to be fair it's far cheaper than getting billed directly. All those extra fees on your utility bills? They don't exist on commercial service...and the rates are lower too. Even with the few guaranteed to be wasteful people in the building increasing the overall bill it's still a good deal.

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jfg1984 t1_j2osyic wrote

Sounds like the landlord either made an error on the lease and meant to say ā€œwaterā€ was included or your hot water is supplied by an electric water heater separate from the oil boiler. Are you paying for electricity?

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dotikk t1_j2sbttt wrote

If everything else is fine - Iā€™d advise against making a big deal out of this. Itā€™s your first apartment and your learning itā€™s expensive living on your own.

There is no law requiring them to pay for hot water, unless itā€™s the entire house on one boiler. So your ā€œfriendā€ is incorrect.

Sometimes itā€™s not worth rocking the boat over something like this.

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brick1972 t1_j2mpn0g wrote

In a multifamily unit the landlord is generally required to provide the water itself.

Among other things this is because water service is usually to the house and considered part of the house, not each individual unit.

The way you might have hot water included is if there is a single hot water tank for the entire house or for multiple units. You see this a lot in the houses that a further subdivided into small apartments. Generally speaking this goes along with heat being included though.

If your landlord said he would include hot water in the lease (even as a typo it's a legal document and you could probably get something) you could of course do whatever you can to get him to pay for the oil or some portion of it (I assume you have tankless hot water as part of the furnace) but with this comes looking for a new apartment because it will completely burn your relationship.

The law around hot water is similar to heat the landlord has to provide the means - this means you have working hot water heater. But he is not required to provide the fuel.

For the oil he can't mandate automatic delivery but he can put in there that you are liable for damage (frozen pipes, furnace damage, etc.) If you let the oil run dry. He can suggest that automatic delivery is a good way to avoid this.

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PolarisX t1_j2u3p9o wrote

They could have had an electric hot water tank that fed both units at one point, and then went to on demand hot through the boiler. The paperwork might just be old. Some older homes that have been turned into rentals have some crazy things going on. My panel feeds the on-property garage sub panel for example. I worked out a deal with my landlord over this, but technically it's a no-no.

It could also just be a regular old boring error, and only exists for units with electric hot water heaters that are included for some reason, like heat / electricity included units.

Basically, you got on-demand hot through oil, it is what it is.

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NoellaChel t1_j30761y wrote

There is a great landlord tenant hand book for RI (will get you link) but no landlord does not have to provide hot water he has to provide access to hot water. So for simplicity he has to provide an operational/functioning hot water tank you are responsible for the power that heats the water. Depending on system hot water may or may not be attached to hearing system. I have oil heat however my hot water tank uses electricity to heat not oil

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geffe71 t1_j2mooah wrote

Trying to figure out the hot water situation. You said the oil heats the water. Iā€™ve never seen a oil fired hot water tank

Is the hot water a SuperStor that the boiler water heats the water? If so, you are paying for to heat the water.

Could the hot water tank be gas fed? Is so, do you have a gas or electric stove? Is the landlord paying the gas bill?

Could the hot water tank be electric? If so, then is the landlord paying the electric bill

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brick1972 t1_j2mqn32 wrote

My read is that OP has tankless hot water as part of the furnace and thinks they can use this typo/mistake to also get free heat since running the furnace is required for hot water.

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jumpergirl05 OP t1_j2qf2k1 wrote

Lol what Iā€™m literally asking a question because itā€™s my first place no need to try to twist things thanks

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SmargelingArgarfsner t1_j2o28x6 wrote

Oil fired water heaters are definitely a thing. A terrible, inefficient, horribly expensive thing, but a thing nonetheless.

Havenā€™t seen one in awhile but they are out there in RI.

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jfg1984 t1_j2ot5ip wrote

Yeah those are really rare. More common is indirect hot water heating off of an oil boiler or a separate electric tank.

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jumpergirl05 OP t1_j2qeum8 wrote

I know the Stove is electric and I pay the electric bill every month as well. There is a big giant oil tank in the basement and a Beckett oil burner and it heats the place and provides the hot water. I am On the first floor and there is a second floor above me she told me she doesnā€™t have oil up there she has electric heat. So Iā€™m pretty sure Iā€™m paying for the hot water

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NoellaChel t1_j3083f2 wrote

Be glad you not paying for electric heat that is the worse

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NoellaChel t1_j307yh3 wrote

Iā€™m thinking boiler system That heats hot water very common but a pita in summer as have yo run it for hot water

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Nevvermind183 t1_j2otoxc wrote

Huh? Typically your furnace heats the hot water tank.

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geffe71 t1_j2otwo1 wrote

Boiler heats the hot water if a SuperStor (or other indirect water heater) is connected, or itā€™s a combo unit (Navien, Rheem, Rinai). Other that that you can have a gas or electric water heater as a stand alone like the majority of homes

Furnace is hot air.

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overthehillhat t1_j2mjvwh wrote

I wanna have no-cost HotWater

ExtraLong Showers

HotCar washes /rinses

Winter Bird Baths

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