Does anyone know if there is a City of Bryan code for maintenance on residential hot water heaters? As in, is it required by law to have a professional repair a malfunctioning water heater?

While I know it's not rocket science to hire a professional to repair an appliance that runs on gas and fire (and has the potential to explode), somehow my landlord is convinced that our neighbor, a retired school teacher, is qualified to repair our water heater.

When we first notified the landlord(who lives near Waco) that the water heater wasn't working, she made some calls and somehow figured out there is a part on this particular model that has known problems. She orders the part, but refuses to pay someone to fix it. She told us to wait until our neighbor could fix it. We went 11 days without a hot water.

The neighbor and my boyfriend installed the new part Sunday evening. We noticed the unit was unusually loud and was emitting an odd odor once we got it fired back up. We figured it was the new part that was being "broken in".

Even when the thermostat is set to warm and the water heater kicks on, it is much louder than it was before and you can smell propane inside and outside the house. I've been leaving windows open, just to be on the safe side. Last night, the carbon monoxide detector went off while I was getting ready for bed. I opened the back door and left it open all night. At 1 a.m. (the back door wide open), the carbon monoxide detector is going off again. We shut the water heater off and turned off the gas supply.

I emailed my landlord at 1:20 a.m. about this, asking her to schedule a professional to fix this. Her solution: have the neighbor back over to "look into the issue" for us. Needless to say, I am a little livid.

I am tempted to just hire a professional to fix it, then take the cost out of my rent. My roommate and I are renting this house from a friend's parents. We do not have a signed lease so I guess we are basically month-to-month.

I am looking for some leverage to help her understand that carbon monoxide and gas leaks are nothing the play around with...besides it being really uncool that we have been without hot water for almost two weeks. (Good thing I kept my gym membership so I can shower!)

Any help, suggestions, or advice is much appreciated.

Certified letter w/ return receipt to the landlord asking for it to be repaired by a qualified person due to CO detector going off and smell of propane in your house (this should NOT happen).

This is crazy. 2 weeks without hot water is ridiculous but since it is a friend's parent and there is no actual lease, your situation seems a little harder to deal with.

It is still horrible and unsafe. I suggest calling her and putting your foot down. Tell her it is unsafe and you will call a professional yourself and deduct it from the rent unless she finds a professional of her choosing.

YOU HAVE A FREAKING GAS LEAK! That is an EMERGENCY! It's dangerous and you could all die for heaven's sake. Email your landlord (or call her and record the conversation-yes, it's legal) and tell her that she needs to get someone out ASAP or you will call someone out make the repairs and deduct it from the rent. If she doesn't want to mess with repairs then she needs to geet a service set up to do so or put a home warranty on the property and you can pay the service call fee.
She doesn't hav ethe right to put your life at risk just because she's cheap. I would never mess with anything that had to do with the gaas line. You need to get this taken care of now.

If your neighbor is the active property manager, for the landlord, what makes you think he isn't qualified?

Is he currently repairing what you tell him to, or diagnosing the problem himself?

I'm guessing he insn't qualified because she has to sleep with her windows open so she doesn't suffocate in the middle of the night..?

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YOU HAVE A FREAKING GAS LEAK! That is an EMERGENCY!

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Bears repeating. At no time should you be smelling gsa coming from your hot water heater. With the carbon monoxide detector going off, it stands to reason to call in a PROFESSIONAL now!

We can do an inspection and advise you on the steps to persue.

Brad

Sponsor Message: http://www.johngauseplumbing.com/
FOR 24 HOUR EMERGENCY SERVICE CALL 979-492-9094
To schedule appointment: http://www.johngauseplumbing.com/Questions-or-Appointments.html/

It is actually a STATE law

Brad

Sponsor Message: http://www.johngauseplumbing.com/
FOR 24 HOUR EMERGENCY SERVICE CALL 979-492-9094
To schedule appointment: http://www.johngauseplumbing.com/Questions-or-Appointments.html/

You do not need a formal signed lease in the state of Tx. You have a 30 day month to month tenancy which has state codes in place to protect both tenant and land lord. Go to the state attorney general website and search tenant rights. This will explain the conditions the land lord must provide you with and what procedure to follow when the land lord is not providing adequate living conditions or maintenance. Do not deduct the price of a professional repair from your rent. This is not legal and could result in eviction. You can recover the expense in civil court. Once a repair request is made in writing the land lord has 24 hours to 7 days to make the repair depending on the nature of repair. In this case 24 hours due to the safety concern. You can then send notice to vacate the property due to health hazardous conditions. You will not be in violation of the month to month tenancy laws even if the tell you you owe the next 30 days. No court will enforce this. You could also contact the city housing code department and gas compamy for help or advise.

Oh and BTW it is absolutely illegal for anyone other than a licensed plumber to work on a gas water heater in the state of Texas. It is punishable by $2500 fine and York one year I'm jail. Feel free to contact PHCC in Austin concerning plumbing codes, laws , and maintenance men performing illegal plumbing.

Thanks to everyone for all the replies! I realize this situation is dangerous and ridiculous, but I wanted to get advice before the pi$$ing match between us and the landlord gets any worse.

Luvmydoc – yes, I realize this is an emergency. Unfortunately, until I have some ammunition (aka ordinance or state law), I’m afraid she won’t act. Thanks for suggesting the home warranty option – I will definitely mention it to her since this is an older home with quite a few older appliances.

TexasRebel – no, the neighbor is not the active property manager. The landlord just trusts him to fix things around the house. I told him when he walked in the door – “Thank you so much for working on this, but it is not your responsibility.” He acknowledged that fact, but said that he would try to fix it for us so we could at least take a shower. He even mentioned that he really wasn’t that sure about working on the water heater.

JohnGause – I may be calling you. Thank you!

TxVix – thank you for the information, especially your latest post. Wow! I think that will make her wet her britches and pony up the cash to hire someone. I am so mad I cannot even think straight and clearly about where to start gathering information.



[This message has been edited by sangria (edited 3/2/2011 1:45p).]

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I am so mad I cannot even think straight and clearly

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I hope that's not because of the gas

Seriously, good luck with it.

Mistakes corrected, parts re-installed correctly, correct parts in place. Hope it works out for you. Glad MyBCS could help you out.





Brad

Sponsor Message: http://www.johngauseplumbing.com/
FOR 24 HOUR EMERGENCY SERVICE CALL 979-492-9094
To schedule appointment: http://www.johngauseplumbing.com/Questions-or-Appointments.html/

quote:

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The landlord just trusts him to fix things around the house.

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that kind of makes him the active property manager when you have an absentee landlord.

You shouldn't have been without hot water for more than a day.
Having a gas leak and being without hot water for 11 days is craziness.

Vix,

What makes you think that?

Sure, it is illegal for a non-licensed plumber to commercially repair gas piping...

but that doesn't apply here.

She has had an first hand encounter with the "powers that be" on one of her properties months ago. It just happened to be a gas water heater that maintenance worked on and did not do correct. Then her tenant contacted the city
and it got costly from there....

Needless to say, we then met.

But not the way we like to meet people



Brad

Sponsor Message: http://www.johngauseplumbing.com/
FOR 24 HOUR EMERGENCY SERVICE CALL 979-492-9094
To schedule appointment: http://www.johngauseplumbing.com/Questions-or-Appointments.html/

so what you're saying is...

it is illegal to incorrectly repair gas plumbing?

FINALLY a law I like.

Sounds like you need to move out, friend or no friend thier taking advantage of you. I'm not sure I think you are free to move out because they did not make timely repairs.


I have a property that I will be happy to lease to you...

Many thanks to Brad from John Gause Plumbing for fixing the problem today and bringing our water heater back up to code. It's nice to know we can rest easy and don't have to wonder or worry about it leaking any longer.

Brad - sorry I didn't make it back to the house in time to meet you in person. And thank you for making it by the house on such short notice. My roommate and I very much appreciate your help.

And thanks to everyone else for their input.

Sugar Land - I may be in contact soon. :-) I will keep you in mind.

[This message has been edited by sangria (edited 3/2/2011 11:32p).]

So did you get your landlord to pay for the service?

That's still to be determined, BCS-Ag.

Sugar Land, how can I contact you? Just in case SL doesn't check this forum, does anyone know how to contact him/her? If so, please let me know.

Vix,

It is illegal for anyone other than the HOMEOWNER to repair any plumbing issues, including gas heaters.

A home owner can do what ever they want to their own property. It is illegal for anyone other than a licensed plumber to work on a gas water heater including friends, NEIGHBORS, or maintenance men. The home owner had not reformed any of the aforementioned work and having the neighbor do it is illegal.

only if the neighbor is hired...

if it is just a non-monetary exchange favor, friend or neighbor authorized by the homeowner is all the same as the homeowner themselves.

...now if "neighbor" runs a handyman "I Fix Everything" business and goes after that repair unlicensed... yes, what you're saying applies.

[This message has been edited by TexasRebel (edited 3/3/2011 1:35p).]

Yes, up to the point a permit is needed.
And, yes, a homeowner can get a HO Permit for work on their own residence.

But not for a non-domiciliary residence, only for the one they actually live in.

In a rental property, you cannot barter for work in the licensed (plumbing, electrical, a/c, irrigation, pest control) trades legally--unless it is with a licensed person.

If you can get a JM plumber with a current NG/LP ticket to work for carrotcake (or buffalo hides or whatever) that's fine.

But, that unlicensed 'handy' person, next door, down the street, nephew's sister's cousin's neighbor--not in rental property.

State and local law is involved--ask Brad what it costs him to have both a State License and the City Mechanical registrations.

You said it all, Capn Mac!

Permits are required. If a licensed plumber does the work, he must pull permits.

I'd definitely be sending the receipt for any repairs along with my reduced rent. Definitely send it with a nice, calm letter stating why you are deducting the labor/part costs. Might want to contact CoCS or CoB and include a copy of their related ordinance along with your check and letter.

I do not recommend sending reduced rent regardless of who is in the wrong. This is not legal and is considered non payment of rent and could result in eviction. If you plan to stay pay your rent as specified. Talk with you land lord about reimbursement but if they do not agree you must peruse it in small claims court. In this circumstance you will win.

Small Claims court filing is not that large, and IIRC, includes service.

Ok, looked it up. $34 to file, and whatever the going rate is for service, which looks to vary from $60-75, but the plaintiff can opt to deliver the citation in person (just have to insure that it is served).

The plumbing repair could be small, but still a hundred more than the renter can really afford. Replacing a WH can go $2-300, which is also a chunk of change.

Trickier part is that SSC only is for financial collection. And of only actual cash loss--not 'suffering.' So, the advise on paying full rent is still spot on.

So, the fact that the landlord let an unlicensed person make a repair which might have poisoned the renters is not a good SSC matter. However, if one can establish the correct rent rate for places with no hot water and potential CO and CO2 poisoning, then the eleven or so days the condition existed ought be prorated by that amount vice the rent actually paid.

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