What do you do when a tenant calls saying they have no heat? How fast do you react & how fast do you diagnose the problem?

This morning I had a no heat call from a tenant. Usually these calls go directly to voice mail. However I just happened to be by the office phone when she called so I actually answered it before she could finish leaving a message. She was very surprised that someone actually answered the phone during non business hours. This is how I handled it.

1. I asked when she 1st noticed it. Turns out it was last night about 10:00 but knew she would survive for the night & didn't want to bother me. She just wanted me to know so I could schedule a repair for Monday.

FYI this building has 4 units & each unit has their own natural gas for heat, hot water & cooking.

2. I asked her if her stove was working & she said yes. This tells me there is gas going to her unit. Strange as it might seem some tenants don't realize that if their gas gets shutoff they loose their heat.

3. I asked her if she had hot water last night & this morning. She said there was plenty of hot water. Since this unit gets it hot water from the boiler via a super store this told me the boiler was working.

4. I asked her if the light in her Tstat was working & was the Tstat set to heat. She said yes to both. This told me that it most likely was an issue with the circulating pump.

I told her I would be by within the hour to check things out. She said that they were going out so no one would be home. When I got there she was gone.

First I went to the boiler room to see what the status of the boiler was. According to the lights on the Taco control everything was normal & neither the super store nor the heating circulator were calling for the boiler to fire. When I jumped the heat zone, the exhaust damper opened, the boiler fired & the heating circulator came on. I left it jumped long enough for hot water to circulate thru the system. Now I knew that the issue wasn't in the boiler room so I went up into her unit.

When I checked the Tstat I found that it was switched to heat, the lights worked (tells me batteries are OK) and the temperature was set high enough so the boiler should have fired. Then I noticed that the Tsat seemed to be slight loose from the base plate. I removed & reinstalled the Tstat to the base plate. This seemed to cure it. I'm guessing that when my helper replaced the Tsat batteries the other day, he didn't properly reattach it to the base.

In the fall when we change out the SD & Co batteries we also change out the Tsat batteries. I'll make sure that my helper checks to be sure it properly reattaches the Tsat before leaving the unit.

I left her a voice mail & sent her an Email letting her know the heat was working. I like to use Emails to help establish a paper trail incase a problem should arise..

Now before some of you jump all over me for answering the phone & actually doing a service call on a Sunday morning let me explain why I did it.

1. She is a long time tenant who pays in full & on time

2. She takes excellent care of her unit as well as the common areas

3. She wasn't demanding that I have someone come instantly to fix it

4. I was going to be within 3 miles of the building anyway

5. By putting eyes on, I would have a better idea of what the problem might be. This would enable me to make an informed decision on whether it was something that my helper, my plumber, my electrician or myself should take care of.

6. I find it rewarding to problem solve things like this

Why jump on you for doing something good, for both you and your tenant? You get the satisfaction from solving a tricky problem, and she got her heat back quickly during cold season, and super service from her landlord.

If you did not have to cancel some other important function to make the service call what is the problem?, even on a Sunday.

I would just tell her you were glad she reported it promptly and THIS TIME you were able to fix it quickly. And that you STRIVE to fix real problems as quickly as possible but some times it may take longer, depending on the circumstances. THIS TIME it all worked out smoothly.

I have two reliable HVAC contractors that I use. Most of the time on a weekday if someone lets me know they have a problem by 10:00 I can have a tech there the same day. Sometimes I can get someone on Saturday but not always . Sunday calls wait until Monday.

I always buy a service contract from the heating company.They include a cleaning/oiling of motors and other general maintenance,AND if anything goes wrong, they have guys that will go out 24/7 for a call of no heat and there is no charge. Covers a lot/most of equipment if they have to replace things.

I would have done the same thing. It wasn't an emergency (below zero weather that would freeze the pipe), but still cold enough to want heat. I usually ask the basic questions to try to trouble shoot a bit over the phone and then I head out for eyes and hands on. Then I call the service people if needed. If I needed service people, I would have told them Monday was fine in this case, not an emergency.

You did a very good job of addressing the problem.

Especially in MA where it's not sunny Florida at this time of year and neither is northern Florida sunny and warm this time of year. Temps in the past week have fallen into the low 30's. Oh Yes by the way blame that country north of us for pushing cold area into Florida, BRRRR. Hey no need to share the cold weather with SUNNY FLORIDA.

Ok where was I, oh yes.

Frozen MA! Snowy MA! The Tenant did not call last night but this AM.

Tenant was pleasant about it. You responded and addressed the issue. The issue was on your end of the problem and not tenant caused or created.

BRAVO you did good!!!

However lets play devils advocate for a minute: What if this was a problem tenant and the landlord ignored it until Monday morning or later. Now heats off for a day or more and temps drop below freezing for several days. FROZEN PIPES are not a fun thing with a good or bad tenant. Heating issues must be addressed immediately. Plus if no heat issues go to court judges like to rule in tenants favor due to landlord ignoring suppling heat. That being said if tenant did not pay gas or electric bill or did not put oil in the tanks then this is tenant problem and out of landlords control. Unfortunately then landlord may pay for it in burst water pipes or hot water heating pipes.

No jumping on you here. I answer my phone all the time.

I think you made a wise decision and quickly handle the problem, and I would say she is a good tenant and didnt expect, the repair done immediately but calling so she can get on Monday’s schedule. The kind of tent I like.

In a low income property of mine, almost every month a tenant was calling about NO HEAT. Their heaters were wall mounted and self contained needed no external power to operate. If they didn't work, it's because the tenant didn't pay for gas and was shut off or the pilot got blown out.

So I ask them to open up the lower grill and see if the pilot is viable. IF the pilot is out and it's too late in the evening for me to get by the property, then I'll give the tenant the combination to a storage closet in the common hallway with space heaters. The kind that will not burn the place down. Safe and child safe. They can use the space heater(s) until I'll get there the next day or so.....