Posted by GL - ON on February 24, 2003 at 22:48:59:
You didn’t say they were emergency repairs. You said they were “service” calls which is a different thing.
You are obliged to keep the heat on. In case of no heat the tenants are supposed to notify you and you are supposed to take care of it. They are not supposed to authorise repairs in your name.
But if you don’t get it fixed in a reasonable time they can have emergency repairs done at your expense.
In this case it sounds like they just called a repair man without notifying you first. If that is the case I wouldn’t pay. I would tell the repair company I didn’t authorise any repair and to send the bill to the person who did.
Posted by John_CT on February 24, 2003 at 14:55:04:
I purchased a 3 family fully rented. The 2nd floor residents are subsidised so all of thier expenses are monitored by the city agency.
I was faxed a bill for the service of the oil burner. The oil company told the resident that burner needed to be serviced not once but twice within a 4 week time frame. The resident did not intiate the call seems as though the comp. just did it.
Generally who is repsonsible for the maint? thanx…John
Posted by GL - ON on February 24, 2003 at 16:03:09:
I don’t know but if you didn’t order it done it’s not you.
I normally get my furnaces serviced once a year but I am pernickety. Most landlords never bother until they break down. More than once a year is excessive and unnecessary.
If it was me I would tell the oil company that I didn’t authorise the work and I wasn’t paying for it. I would further tell them to keep their hands off my furnace. If you have a service contract, cancel it.
My grandmother had a service contract with her oil supplier. When I drove up to her house I could see smoke coming out the chimney as black as coal. She had just had the furnace serviced a week before.
I had her cancel her contract and got a reputable, independent firm to service it. Her oil bills went down by almost a half, and no more black smoke.
My policy is to find out who the best man in town is regardless of price and have him service my furnaces once a year. They never break down, they don’t waste fuel and I save more than it costs me in fuel waste, and repairs not to mention aggravation.