ohiolandlord
02-09-2006, 12:31 AM
The building is an older building and heat is provided to the entire building buy a boiler system. In the Lease it states that heat is provided from October 15th to April 15th of each year (6 months) and that the lessee is responsible for providing and paying for any additional safe heating devices that they may wish to use. We are having a cooler week w/ temps down to 43 degrees, is landlord obligated to restart the boiler or not before or after the designated dates?? Tenants do not pay for heat.
n Ohio, Ohio Revised Code Section 5321.04 states that the landlord must provide access to an adequate heat supply to the premises. Another part of Ohio's landlord tenant act of 1974 states that no provision of Ohio Revised Code 5321 can be waived by agreement between the landlord and the tenant except parts of Ohio Revised Code Section 5321.05 (dealing with the tenant's duties to the landlord).
Thus you could argue that the contractual provision purporting to waive the landlord's duties under Ohio Revised Code Section 5321.04 should not be enforced by a court.
But a court in Ohio might rule that since the place has electricity, and since electrical heaters are commericially available, and since this would have done the job of heating the place for the short periods of time that they were needed, that this constitutes access to an adequate heat supply.
The trouble with that argument is that since Ohio Revised Code Section 5321 is a remedial act, it must be liberally construed in favor of the legislature's intent in adopting it. Ohio Courts have consistently ruled that the intent of the Ohio Legislature in enacting Ohio Revised Code 5321 was to balance the historically uneven playing field between landlords and tenants, thus an interpretation of Ohio Revised Code Section 5321.04 allowing the landlord to restrict access to the main heating system would be contrary to such statutorily required construction.
If the shutting down of the main heating systemis a violation of Ohio Revised Code 5321.04, you can find your remedies in our FAQ section at http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/faq1.html
To understand more about your rights as a tenant, you can download our book online at http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/book.html
n Ohio, Ohio Revised Code Section 5321.04 states that the landlord must provide access to an adequate heat supply to the premises. Another part of Ohio's landlord tenant act of 1974 states that no provision of Ohio Revised Code 5321 can be waived by agreement between the landlord and the tenant except parts of Ohio Revised Code Section 5321.05 (dealing with the tenant's duties to the landlord).
Thus you could argue that the contractual provision purporting to waive the landlord's duties under Ohio Revised Code Section 5321.04 should not be enforced by a court.
But a court in Ohio might rule that since the place has electricity, and since electrical heaters are commericially available, and since this would have done the job of heating the place for the short periods of time that they were needed, that this constitutes access to an adequate heat supply.
The trouble with that argument is that since Ohio Revised Code Section 5321 is a remedial act, it must be liberally construed in favor of the legislature's intent in adopting it. Ohio Courts have consistently ruled that the intent of the Ohio Legislature in enacting Ohio Revised Code 5321 was to balance the historically uneven playing field between landlords and tenants, thus an interpretation of Ohio Revised Code Section 5321.04 allowing the landlord to restrict access to the main heating system would be contrary to such statutorily required construction.
If the shutting down of the main heating systemis a violation of Ohio Revised Code 5321.04, you can find your remedies in our FAQ section at http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/faq1.html
To understand more about your rights as a tenant, you can download our book online at http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/book.html