electrical woes - what are the landlord's responsibilities?
yesterday I tried to plug a lamp into a wall outlet in my apt. (parlor floor of a brownstone in Cobble Hill) and knocked out all of theelectrical power for the apartment. The fuse box yielded a 30 amp screw in fuse that had NOT blown. I got an electrician to visit on short order…
yesterday I tried to plug a lamp into a wall outlet in my apt. (parlor floor of a brownstone in Cobble Hill) and knocked out all of theelectrical power for the apartment. The fuse box yielded a 30 amp screw in fuse that had NOT blown. I got an electrician to visit on short order and found that the apt.wiring likely has a break/and/or melted from an overloaded circuit. There is only ONE CIRCUIT for the entire apt.; obviously very old wiring in this apt. My query to all of you out there is what are the legal responsibilities of the landlord to rectify thisproblem? Must the wiring be brought up to code? What is the code for residential wiring in NYC? Does the landlord have responsibility for paying my housing expenses while the work is done? Does anyone have an ideaof how long such a job will take if the entire apt. needs to be re-wired?
Happy Holidays…
If you want legal advice, then hire a lawyer, or find a Tenant’s Advocacy program and ask them. Any replies from the peanut gallery here don’t constitute legal advice.
Although it seems like the landlord would be required to provide electricity to your apartment (ie. find the current break/melt and have it fixed), old wiring does necessarily have to be brought up to code in absence of a renovation. The 30-amp fuse in the circuit is definitely a hazard, though, and should be replaced by your landlord.
If you apartment is livable, your landlord wouldn’t have and obligation to house you elsewhere. You may be able to work something out with them though – i.e. if you’re going on a vacation, maybe they could take time to upgrade some of the electrical in your apartment. It’s expensive though, so if you’re paying below market or reasonable rent for an older place (and from the sound of your landlord) I doubt they’d do it.
(A) whoever put the 30 amp fuse there should be shot. it’s a real fire hazard since the melted wire coudl have caused a fire. there should probably be a 10 to 15 amp fuse on those wires.
(b) that probably means that your apartment will really suck for electrical connections (you can probably forget about running the toaster and the fridge at the same time, but i don’t think that the landlord has an obligation to fix it. that’s part of the danger of renting an old place (I think).
Your landlord sounds like he is a bad landlord. Unless you want to put up with this I would move out. I am a landlord and this is my advice to you.
Only one circuit for the whole apartment? I’m surprised you don’t blow fuses more often. Your landlord will have to fix the problem but I don’t think by law he has to upgrade the whole apartment ( even though he should ) If he does want to upgrade I would imagine you may have to move out because the job may be a real mess for you to live with.