Though Chicago’s heat ordinance requires the city’s landlords to maintain adequate heat during the winter, residents of one public housing complex spoke out in January as their homes became frigid during the winter storm and cold front.
One of the tenants, Ella, who has multiple sclerosis and took to using her stove to keep her apartment warm, told CBS she spent her day wrapped in blankets to survive. According to the report, laser thermometer readings found indoor temperatures dipped as low as 47 F — just a few degrees warmer than the inside of a fridge. The local housing authority told CBS that their teams did well-being checks on tenants throughout the day, and found units to be at appropriate temperatures.
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Other residents were also using gas stoves and space heaters to try to maintain comfortable temperatures, despite risks of fire and health problems from inhaling fumes.
If you are a tenant, you have the legal right to safe housing, including livable temperatures. Here’s what you need to know about lodging a formal complaint, and what you can do to ensure your landlord offers timely repairs whenever serious issues arise.
The right to safe and livable housing
State and city laws dictate the minimum temperature landlords must maintain in rental units. For example, in Chicago, apartments must be at least 68 F between 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. and 66 F between 10:30 p.m. and 8:30 a.m. for all the fall, winter and spring, from Sept. 15 to June 1 (1).
Although exact requirements vary, in all 50 states, landlords must meet a standard called the implied warrant of habitability, which basically means a property must be safe, decent, and in appropriate condition for people to live in. That means heating, plumbing, and hot water must be in good working order, safety hazards are quickly taken care of, pests are dealt with, and locks work properly on the windows and doors. It also means that repairs of issues affecting the unit’s livability have to be made in a timely manner (2).
All tenants living in private buildings or public housing schemes are entitled to these protections, plus freedom from harassment and discrimination. However, tenants in public housing units funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are even more protected. If this applies to you, you have the right to participate in decisions about your apartment building, and additional protections under many state laws (3).
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How to speak up if you need help with housing
Public housing tenants can reach out to their local HUD office to help them resolve issues with a landlord who is not complying with their rights (4). Private tenants will need to appeal to their city or county housing authority. Although there is no official directory of housing authorities in the U.S., there is a community-made directory of housing authorities at OfficialHousingAuthority.com (5).
If you need to speak up, know your rights. Regardless of whether you are a private or public housing tenant, your landlord is not allowed to retaliate against you for protesting unfair treatment — that’s illegal.
If you have an issue in your apartment that makes your home unsafe or unlivable, follow these steps for a resolution:
- Notify your landlord of an emergency issue as soon as possible. Look up your state and local laws — your landlord may be obligated to fix serious issues within a certain time frame.
- Ensure the issues are documented, including by taking photos with timestamps
- Reach out to your HUD office or local housing authority. If you are struggling to be heard, consider reaching out to a local non-profit that focuses on tenants’ rights.
- If this does not resolve the issue, consider speaking to a tenant attorney and filing a complaint. You may be owed a rent abatement for the time you lived with unsafe conditions, or compensation for out-of-pocket costs of repairs you made yourself (6).
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Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
CBS News (1); FindLaw (2, 3); U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (4); Official Housing Authority (5); Horn Wright Law (6)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
