I suppose the oldest tenant trick in the book is to deliberately leave hot water running so as to jack up a landlord’s heating costs. Any good advice on how to combat this and document it? I currently have access to the apartment below (but won’t for long) which I assume will help. And I’m not the least bit adverse to legal action, but am wondering exactly how to extract proof of the situation.


Comments

  1. quote:
    This should be a wake up call to any of you thinking of buying a building with RC/RS tenants. Many of them (but not all) have a deep seated sense of entitlement and don’t understand the realities of the real world.

    uh.. the real world? im pretty sure they know more about the real world than people plonking down millions of dollars for riff raff property.! sheesh. ! no offense to you tho. but that comment is silly.

    *rob*

  2. This should be a wake up call to any of you thinking of buying a building with RC/RS tenants. Many of them (but not all) have a deep seated sense of entitlement and don’t understand the realities of the real world. Nor do they know how to behave in a typically civil, give-and-take manner as this example illustrates.

    As far as documenting anything, the only thing I can think of is time stamped photos of the meter, assuming there is a separate one for that unit. Otherwise, just play hardball to the extent that you can within the law.

  3. Vinca is correct. Dont be fool!! Plus I bet the shut off valves are near the fixtures in the apt.
    I wouldnt wait till the late at night. I’d knock on every door and ask the tenants not use any water for 10 mins while you check the meter. Plus you mentioned “heating” it’s the heating season and this is considered an emergency for the entire building.

  4. btw, i wasn’t saying the cat thing was out of spite, obviously the original poster’s situation is different. pets are funny / picky about water. unless max is dying, he won’t drink from anything except his own water bowl.

  5. Yes, there are several kinds of cat fountains – range in price from $20 to $65. The more expensive ones are quieter & don’t spook wussy felines.

  6. at thet very least, this is socially irresponsible. i mean seriously, it’s just so obnoxious to waste water like that out of spite. i can’t believe that people leave their faucet running 24/7 for a cat that takes maybe a cup of water’s worth of drinks per day. don’t they sell things that aerate and respout the water for $25 in the skymall catalogue? skymall always sells the most random things.

  7. IMBY is right,
    the water meter has that little red triangle. if it is moving when there is nobody home or everyone is sleeping, there is either a leak or somebody is letting the water run.
    I would take a video camera, document the time (perhaps 2:00 AM Tues.) and videotape the water meter running for a few hours into the morning.
    That combined with the spike in historical water usage from the DEP should be more than enough proof of your tenant’s sneaky ploy.
    A reasonable judge will be more than glad to take your documentation into consideration as to whether this tenant is abusing his tenant rights.

  8. quote:
    BTW – Rob you are a fucking idiot and destined to live in poverty because of your limited intelligence.

    excuuuuuse me? all i said was that it’s not inherently illegal. why dont you check YOURSELF

    *rob*

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