Rental apartment too hot

by Chris McNamara

My apartment building's too hot in winter and there's no thermostat I can use to turn down the heat. Just this constant blast of hot air through the vent, which is near the windows.

I used to open the window to let some of the heat out. That made the temperature more bearable. The problem is it's a big waste of energy to let all that heat out. Even though I don't pay for heat separately, I don't like to waste it. And then I have the noise of the street below, which was waking me up around 5am with the garbage trucks starting to make their rounds. On really cold days last winter they seemed to turn the heat up even more so if you leave the window open you get occasional really cold gusts.

The solution I did was cover up the vent. I have an old armchair that was by the window anyway. I just moved the armchair into the corner by the heating vent. By covering the heating vent with the side of the armchair I cut off about a third of the airflow. I guess the heat on the upholstery might wreck it but so what, I don't have high hopes for the chair anyway.

So now I don't overheat and don't waste heat either. I know a lot of people in my building leave their windows open in winter because their apartment gets too hot - you can see it from the street. It's amazing the landlord is wasting all this energy but at least I found a way to solve the waste.

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Rental apartment too hot

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Mar 23, 2011
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Summer AC bill how to control it
by: Tara

I live in an old apartment and live on the top floor. In summer time it gets so hot and even with my AC on and turned down to 72 it's still hot. I really don't know what to do from having a high bill this summer. If you have advice please let me know.

May 30, 2010
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Heating high with 30 degrees outside!
by: Anonymous

We have the same problem. It has been about 30 degrees outside, and the heating is still on!
It's now 30 degrees all day (even at night), with all ventilators on! We already complained, but the landlords say they are obligated between Sept 1st and May 31st to keep the heating working. I looked at the act (Ontario/Hamilton) and It is true that they have to keep temperature above 20 (nothing is said about overheating). So they are so afraid to get a claim if temperature drops at night somewhere to 19 degrees (what would be great), that they overheat 2 apartment buildings!
I feel really sick now, in this heat, forced to stay outside all day, to get some relief and some oxygen. It's terrible, being pregnant, and old people must suffer too!
They've really gone mad!

Apr 17, 2010
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Rental Apartment too hot
by: Anonymous

I live on the top floor of a 3 story building, it is so hot in here all winter we turned the vents down as much as we could put our big sectional couch in front of the heater, as well as had all windows open AND fans going in our bedrooms it is still too hot to sleep most nights, the past week it has been in the 20's outside, and the heat is still on, why you ask because there is a older gentleman on the floor below me who complains constantly how cold it is in his apartment, to me it would make more sense for him to wear a sweater then to make the rest of the tenants suffer. My other neighbor has been living in this building for 32 years and he is ready to move out because of the constant arguing over the heat in here, the super's solution is for anyone who doesn't like it to move out, when he is the biggest problem here with not telling the older man that it is too hot for everyone else he just keeps cranking the heat up more and more cause he is in the basement and it is cool there all the time!!!!!!!!!

Dec 14, 2009
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This is way too common a problem
by: Alisa

Whenever I'm in NYC that's what I notice- people don't have the luxury of the right temperature (and mostly it's too hot- just like offices in summer require people to wear sweaters (!?). It makes me think of force-feeding ducks to make foie gras... New Yorkers, like the geese, have no choice- and there isn't even an arguable benefit.

But you DO have a choice: Why don't you go to your landlord? Call him/her every week until it's fixed? Pick up the phone, it's worth it. You're helping everyone- all the other silent, paralyzed people, not just putting a chair in front of the problem.

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Rental apartment too hot

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Rental apartment too hot