Posted January 27, 20229:42 am
By Aria Janel
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Over the past few weeks, our troubleshooter hotline has been ringing off the hook.
Many of the callers have had issues with the heat in their apartments and not receiving help from their landlords.
Our team has done stories across the county trying to hold people accountable, but fixing one cold apartment at a time isn’t enough. So our team sat down with a lawyer willing to help you at the Legal Aid Society.
“Tenants don’t have to take this lying down, they have rights,” said Attorney Luke Condon.
Condon says under the law, a landlord has to supply adequate heat, especially in January.
And when they don’t you have the right to call out the problem and put them on notice.
“Say look this is a problem and we demand that you fix it and then the landlord has to go on to fix the problem,” said Condon.
This has to be done in writing, and then according to Condon, the landlord has about 30 days to fix the problem in some situations less. If they don’t fix it, you can withhold rent.
"After that expiration of the rent notice they can start paying their rent into the municipal court,” explained Condon. “They still have a duty to pay rent every month but it goes to the court and then the landlord can get it back when they have proven they have done the repairs.”
Want to learn more about your rights?
The Legal Aid Society can help you, if they can’t take your case they can point you in the right direction.
Need legal help with housing?
Contact Legal Aid they’re open online 24/7 at www.lasclev.org or call 888-817-3777.
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Watch the full report and interview with Attorney Luke Condon at Channel 19 News: Without heat? 19 News Troubleshooter team gets legal advice (cleveland19.com)