The District is reminding landlords and property owners that keeping their tenants warm in the winter isn’t just the right thing to do — it’s the law.
In older residential buildings, where the tenants have no control over when the heat is turned on, a landlord is required to maintain the building at 68 degrees between 6:30 a.m. and 11 p.m., and 65 degrees between 11 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. Failure to comply with the regulations could result in a $1,000 fine, in addition to penalties and fees for the building’s ownerTo report a violation, call 202-442-4400.
“We’re a complaint-driven agency,” said Karyn-Siobhan Robinson, spokeswoman for the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. “We’re not riding around looking for this, but if people call us about it, we respond.”
DCRA,which is responsible for enforcing the law, received 1,049 complaints in fiscal year 2006 for no utilities, including heat, water, and electricity, Robinson said. But she couldn’t say how many notices of infraction had been issued or how much in fines had been doled out, in part because the agency’s database system, RAPIDS, has been unreliable — as noted by the D.C. Inspector General in a recent audit.
Last week, inspectors were called in to deal with a 25-unit apartment building in the 3500 block of 13th Street in North Columbia Heights after residents complained of a lack of heat. Ward 1 Council Member Jim Graham, who also has oversight of DCRA, had the grievance taken care of within a day, and the building owner was cited, said Alan Heymann, Graham’s spokesman.
Landlord-controlled heat or cool air is most common in buildings with an antiquated “one-pipe” system. Generally, property managers flip from cool air to heat on Oct. 15, and from heat to conditioned air on May 15.
