Landlord Responsible for Providing Heat

Landlord sued to evict tenant for nonpayment of rent. Landlord and tenant signed a settlement agreement in court. Tenant agreed to pay $6,600, and landlord agreed to make repairs. Landlord later claimed that tenant hadn’t paid--and tenant claimed that landlord hadn’t restored--heat. Landlord claimed that it wasn’t responsible for heat. The court held a hearing and ruled that providing heat was landlord’s responsibility. According to National Grid, the heat meter was in the name of prior tenant until he moved out in 2012. Until November 2016, no one was billed for gas service leading to removal of the meter for nonpayment. Tenant then opened an account and was billed for heating arrears of over $2,000. Tenant claimed that she never knew she was responsible for heating bills, never consented to that, and never received any bills until she opened the account. The court found that tenant didn’t understand that she was responsible to pay for her own heat. Landlord presented no writing between the parties supporting its claim that tenant was responsible for heat.

Brooks Family Holdings LLC v. Morrison: Index No. 65263/15, NYLJ No. 1202765662284 (Civ. Ct. Queens; 7/13/16; Nembhard, J)