Rental Home Getting Cold This Winter? What You Can Legally Ask of Your Landlord

Winter is here, and temperatures in the Bay Area are getting colder.

The region got its first real December storm this week, with showers from San José in the south all the way to Santa Rosa in the north, bringing wet, chilly conditions.

While the National Weather Service predicts that the rains will let up by the end of the week, it looks like colder winter temperatures are here to stay. Friday and Saturday night will see temperatures drop to the low 40s in many parts of the East and South Bay, while the temperatures in the North Bay will fall into the high 30s. And it’s true that the Bay Area gets chilly for only a few months a year, so many homes in the region may not be fully prepared for colder temperatures.

But if you are a renter, know that California’s protections for tenants include your right to a warm home when it’s cold outside. In fact, state law requires that every rented house includes functioning heating equipment that can keep the indoor temperature at a minimum of 70 degrees.

That’s right: No matter how old your building is, or whether your landlord thinks “it’s not cold enough yet,” the heating in your home needs to work — in a specific, measurable way. Additionally, the law also says that hot water (hotter than 110 degrees) must always be available in your home.

To clarify: You — the tenant — do not need to keep your home’s temperature set at 70 degrees. But the heater (or radiator) needs to work and be capable of warming up your home to that temperature. And who is responsible for that? Your landlord, not you.

Why a warm home is important

“Most landlords do the right thing and maintain their properties,” said Leah Simon-Weisberg, legal director for anti-displacement and land-use programs at the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Institute.

“But unfortunately, we have more and more who do not,” she acknowledged. “We know that not having your home within a safe range, in terms of temperature, can have huge impacts on your health.”

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A 2015 study by a Yale research team confirmed what our parents have been telling us for years: Colder temperatures make it easier for you to get sick by reducing the ability of your body’s immune system to respond to viral infections. This means that a comfortable, warm home is especially important at this time of year, as levels of respiratory viruses — not just COVID-19, but RSV and flu too — are rising around the state.

Simon-Weisberg said that while a cold home can be especially difficult for folks living with chronic health conditions, it also makes life harder for healthy people as well. “Even for the average person, you don’t sleep as well if you’re cold,” she said.

My heating doesn’t work. How can I get my landlord to fix it?

Some tenants may know this feeling: Just because the state requires something doesn’t necessarily mean your landlord is doing it.

But that also doesn’t mean that you have to live in a home without heating this winter.

“At the state level, at the local level, tenants are incredibly protected,” Simon-Weisberg said. “You have a right to a warm home.” With that in mind, here are some steps to get your heat working properly.

Start a (written) conversation

First: Your landlord needs to know your heating is not working. Simon-Weisberg recommends giving your landlord a heads-up through writing, like a text or email. If you usually call your landlord, she recommends, after the call, sending a text with a message confirming that the call took place and what was discussed. It doesn’t have to be something overly complicated, but something as simple as, “Thank you for speaking to me and agreeing to address the fact that my heater isn’t working.”

Gather some proof

You may also want to record the temperature in your home with a basic, inexpensive thermometer that you can buy online or at a hardware store. Take a photo of the temperature reading, along with some sort of time stamp (maybe show the thermometer next to another phone to confirm the time and date of the reading). Sharing that photo with your landlord can help show how cold things are getting without proper heating (and it provides you with a record that you can use if your landlord is unresponsive).

Consider buying a heater and requesting reimbursement (if things are getting urgent)

If your heater breaks down during a particularly cold night and you have called or written to your landlord several times already and need heat ASAP, one option is to buy a space heater if you don’t have one already.

Simon-Weisberg said that if you have notified your landlord of insufficient heating and have not received any response, you have grounds to buy a space heater and discount the cost from your next rental payment.

My landlord isn’t being responsive. What now?

If weeks pass by and your landlord still hasn’t fixed your heating, should you refuse to pay your rent?

Simon-Weisberg recommends against that because it could prompt a landlord to begin eviction proceedings against you. Instead, she suggests that you call your city’s building code enforcement agency. When you file a complaint, either online or by phone, code enforcement staff will contact your landlord.

“Landlords will take it more seriously if they are hearing from the city,” said Simon-Weisberg, adding that if they don’t respond to officials after 35 days, landlords can start facing certain financial penalties. In some cities, tenants may even get the opportunity to renegotiate their rent and get a reduction, she said.

Below is the contact information for code enforcement agencies for several Bay Area cities. You can also quickly look up the contact information for your city’s agency with an online search. Remember: If the situation in your home has worsened and your life — or someone else’s — is in immediate danger, call 911 straightaway.

• San Francisco: Call 311 or file a complaint about a San Francisco rental online.
• San José: Call 408-535-7770 or file a complaint about a San José rental online.
• Oakland: Call 510-238-3444 or file a complaint about an Oakland rental online.
• Santa Rosa: Email code@srcity.org or file a complaint about a Santa Rosa rental online.
• Richmond: Call 311 or 804-646-6398.
• Vallejo: Call the city’s Building Division at 707-648-4374.

What should you do while you wait for city staff work to hold your landlord accountable? Simon-Weisberg advises looking for temporary solutions to protect yourself from the warmth, like getting a space heater.

But one thing you should not do: use your gas range or oven to heat your home. This is not only a major fire risk but also causes a buildup of carbon monoxide in your home, which could be lethal.

I don’t have a formal contract with my landlord. Do these protections also apply to me?

Absolutely. In California, tenant protections apply even if you currently do not have a written lease contract. The state recognizes verbal agreements: The moment you pay your landlord for a month of rent, you establish a tenancy agreement.

“There are some countries where the [tenant’s] rights all come from having a written contract,” Simon-Weisberg said. “But in the United States, those rights for tenants actually come from the law.”

Additionally, if you are undocumented, California’s housing laws still protect you.

Simon-Weisberg said that one of the things that makes her “most proud” as a Californian is that “regardless of your immigration status, you have the same housing rights.”

“You have a right to the same safe housing that is regulated by state law,” she said.

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