How quickly would you expect an landlord to respond to an electrical problem?

[BlueTaelon]

Already know I need to move, filled out 3 apps today for low income apts:)

 

We have an electric stove, the breaker trips a couple times a week. Only the stove is on that breaker and it only seems to trip when nothing else is on. Meaning were either not at home or during the night while were sleeping. Now the breaker is immediately tripping after I reset it, longest it lasted was like 2-3 minutes but for the most part its tripping within seconds and you can hear it flip in the panel even though you don't see the switch move.

 

Anyway, we can't cook anything unless its in the microwave or crockpot and we don't have all day and we have 3 meals a day to cook! Kids generally won't eat the same meal 2x in one day and we don't do cereal.

 

How long do I give him to respond? I'm used to someone responding right away and that someone would have someone out right away to deal with something like this. I didn't really like the rental agency but at least they took care of stuff right away.

[zoobie]

I would expect a *response* the next business day that he has placed a service call. The electrician might take another business day or two if there's some electrical crisis (?) in your area.

[NASDAQ]

We landlord.

 

You should get an answer that day if its a business day, next business day if not . It might take a couple more days until the service appointment depending on your and the service person's schedule.

[Kari C in SC]

I own 7 rental properties. If you called or texted me, I would immediately try to get in contact with our electrician. In the mean time, I would call you and let you know that I had called our electrician. It can take a day or two to get somebody out there to check on it. This is for my house out of town. For our houses in town, my husband would come over to check on it ASAP when he got home from work. Then if we needed to call somebody, it could take a day or two.

[Amy in NH]

If I didn't hear from the landlord about the problem within 12 hours, I would send a certified letter that I am hiring an electrician and will deduct the fee from the next month's rent.  And then I would serve cereal and tell the kids "too bad" about not liking to eat the same meal more than twice in a row.

[Tammi K]

Anyway, we can't cook anything unless its in the microwave or crockpot and we don't have all day and we have 3 meals a day to cook! Kids generally won't eat the same meal 2x in one day and we don't do cereal.

 

How long do I give him to respond? I'm used to someone responding right away and that someone would have someone out right away to deal with something like this. I didn't really like the rental agency but at least they took care of stuff right away.

 

Regarding the advice about having your problem fixed, I agree with everyone above. We have a property and there is no way we would be able to respond 'right away' no matter what are best intentions are. We do our best, but sometimes it takes a day or two (or three) despite our best efforts.

 

Regarding your other comment about crockpot and microwave, of course you don't have all day but that's the beauty of a crockpot. If you know you have a stove problem, toss everything into the crockpot and you can dish up dinner as soon as you walk in the door.  Also, the microwave is great for 'in a rush' meals. There are lots of tasty things you can create in a microwave. I had a friend who cooked for a family of 4 for four years with JUST a microwave - real meals, not junk. And really, you can't get much quicker than a microwave!

 

[Unicorn.]

First, I would stop trying to flip the breaker back, because there is obviously a short or something, and I would worry about a fire.  Second, I would expect a phone call at least w/ in 24 hours.  As others have said, the actual electrician could take days.  You can heat water in a coffee pot for instant oatmeal if you don't do cereal, but really, for a few days, cereal for breakfast, or frozen waffles,  and cold sandwiches for lunch isn't a big deal. Have a picnic outside or in the living room and make it an adventure!

[BlueTaelon]

First, I would stop trying to flip the breaker back, because there is obviously a short or something, and I would worry about a fire.  Second, I would expect a phone call at least w/ in 24 hours.  As others have said, the actual electrician could take days.  You can heat water in a coffee pot for instant oatmeal if you don't do cereal, but really, for a few days, cereal for breakfast, or frozen waffles,  and cold sandwiches for lunch isn't a big deal. Have a picnic outside or in the living room and make it an adventure!

I haven't been flipping it since I realized the problem. 

 

Unfortunately were gluten free (celiac) and paleo for medical reasons so yes it is a big deal. I don't even have that stuff in the house and it's an hour drive to the nearest store that sells that stuff. Plus I can't afford it. GF bread is $6loaf here. We ended up cheating and eating crock pot split peas for dinner and I got a very quick reminder of why we're on this diet. I don't even know if we could even get into town for shopping, school has been closed the past 2 days due to major flooding and a lot of roads are washed out and impassable.  Rural living sucks. For most people this would not be a major thing but when your dealing with food allergies you can't just run to the store, you cook from scratch and not with processed foods.  I was supposed to do the weekly cooking/baking spree to restock the fridge so we're pretty low on simple stuff.  Hoping to use my mom's stove to at least cook up meats tomorrow. She was kind enough to boil eggs today so we had protein snacks and tuna. 

[abba12]

I don't even know if we could even get into town for shopping, school has been closed the past 2 days due to major flooding and a lot of roads are washed out and impassable.

 

This would have been relevant to mention in the original post. Flooding brings out all sorts of issues, whether it's people having emergency electrical work done in flooded homes, electricians who can't get to your house through the roads, electricians who's own homes are flooded or are involved in cleanup activities like certifying circuits as safe before people return home. I have been through a few major floods recently, and as big a deal as the broken stove is (and it is a big deal) in this particular situation you are going to be very much on the bottom of the list, under the people with NO power, or the people with dangerous damage. You can simply unplug your stove and it is perfectly safe, and you have power otherwise, you have a microwave and crockpot, so yeah, you are low priority during major flooding, and won't see anyone until the immediate flood issues are dealt with.

 

I would, however, expect contact from the landlord noting that they had started the process within 24 hours. If they haven't even called anyone within 24 hours then they are not fulfilling their duties.

 

Now, I understand that for YOU it's a major issue because of allergies. This is why people in general, and especially people with allergy issues, should always have a stockpile for emergencies. I'm not talking about the 6 months supply in the basement :) But living rurally all my life in an area which sees some wild weather, I NEVER have an empty pantry. I aim to be able to eat (even if it's just baked beans and boiled rice) for at least 2 weeks from my pantry/freezer at any given point in time, and at least 1 week of that should be able to be cooked on a basic heat source like a campfire (worst case scenario, but in my area, a bad power outage can last 3 or 4 days for the more remote areas so this has actually been a reality. Last year they had to airdrop baby formula to some people near here).

 

It used to be the norm to keep that sort of stockpile, our grandparents and many of our parents would never have nothing in the cupboard. The panic buying I see each time it floods is astonishing! I never realized there were people who only had a couple of days of food in the house, it's absolutely foreign to me. I'm so glad to not have to engage in it. So I would really, really, recommend that you consider finding some easily cooked allergy safe foods. Obviously commercial baked beans and pasta and stuff are out for you, but I am sure there must be some 'convenience foods' for your diet, expensive yes, but as an emergecy-only stockpile they would be worth it. Tinned and vacuum packed food will last years before you need to cycle it out. Or perhaps some tinned/frozen veggies, one of the good brands without additives. Put it in a box specifically for emergencies if you are not able to stop it from being used in the pantry. Soups and stews can both be made in microwaves and crockpots easily enough. I am not sure of your restrictions but even adding a tin of diced spam for some protein :) Can you get any of that sort of stuff?

 

Can you convince the kids it's an adventure? :)

[Unicorn.]

Yes, the food allergies and flooding do explain some things!  We are gluten free, so I get that, and have lived where we were unable to get out of our house due to flooding.  It stinks.   I would imagine if there is major flooding, it might be a bit longer.  Maybe the landlord is having their own  problems and hasn't received your message, or been able to get ahold of somebody to fix it?  I hope you get a response soon!

[Just Kate]

As a renter, I understand how frustrating it is when something is broken yet you have to rely on someone else to take care of it. If I were in your shoes, I would expect to hear back from my landlord within 24 hours to discuss some sort of plan to get the stove fixed. If it has been 24 hours and you haven't heard back, I think I would follow-up to let them know that it is important that the process is started to get your stove back in working order.

 

((Hugs)) I'm sure it is difficult in a rural setting with allergies. Good luck working through this!!!

[BlueTaelon]

 

 

I would, however, expect contact from the landlord noting that they had started the process within 24 hours. If they haven't even called anyone within 24 hours then they are not fulfilling their duties.

 

Now, I understand that for YOU it's a major issue because of allergies. This is why people in general, and especially people with allergy issues, should always have a stockpile for emergencies. I'm not talking about the 6 months supply in the basement :) But living rurally all my life in an area which sees some wild weather, I NEVER have an empty pantry. I aim to be able to eat (even if it's just baked beans and boiled rice) for at least 2 weeks from my pantry/freezer at any given point in time, and at least 1 week of that should be able to be cooked on a basic heat source like a campfire (worst case scenario, but in my area, a bad power outage can last 3 or 4 days for the more remote areas so this has actually been a reality. Last year they had to airdrop baby formula to some people near here).

 

It used to be the norm to keep that sort of stockpile, our grandparents and many of our parents would never have nothing in the cupboard. The panic buying I see each time it floods is astonishing! I never realized there were people who only had a couple of days of food in the house, it's absolutely foreign to me. I'm so glad to not have to engage in it. So I would really, really, recommend that you consider finding some easily cooked allergy safe foods. Obviously commercial baked beans and pasta and stuff are out for you, but I am sure there must be some 'convenience foods' for your diet, expensive yes, but as an emergecy-only stockpile they would be worth it. Tinned and vacuum packed food will last years before you need to cycle it out. Or perhaps some tinned/frozen veggies, one of the good brands without additives. Put it in a box specifically for emergencies if you are not able to stop it from being used in the pantry. Soups and stews can both be made in microwaves and crockpots easily enough. I am not sure of your restrictions but even adding a tin of diced spam for some protein :) Can you get any of that sort of stuff?

 

Can you convince the kids it's an adventure? :)

 

I have a nice stocked pantry for lean times, unfortunately its full of foods that are making us sick, physically and mentally. I'm talking serious, debilitating issues for dd13 and I. Basically we can have unprocessed meats, fruits, veggies and nuts, herbs, spices, sea salt. Can't even have my beloved sugar:( Were new to this diet still so I haven't had a chance to build a new stock pile and I don't really see that happening until fall when I can buy stuff cheap at the produce market and can it myself. I need to get another bbq with a burner, you can do darn near everything in one of those:) Thats pretty much all we use in the summers and we didn't have room to bring mine when we moved:(

 

Anyway, its the lack of contact thats irritating me, he lives a couple states away and they are not having crazy weather. All I need to hear back is "I got your msg and I'll called someone, they think they will be able to get to you xzy" This house needs major repairs thats he's neglected to the point it could easily be called substandard housing, I have good reason to believe he will not address this issue because he has not taken care of the other issues. Right now I'm just hoping we get into income based housing quickly. Roads are clear into town so were going today.

[KatieJ]

I have a nice stocked pantry for lean times, unfortunately its full of foods that are making us sick, physically and mentally. I'm talking serious, debilitating issues for dd13 and I. Basically we can have unprocessed meats, fruits, veggies and nuts, herbs, spices, sea salt. Can't even have my beloved sugar:( Were new to this diet still so I haven't had a chance to build a new stock pile and I don't really see that happening until fall when I can buy stuff cheap at the produce market and can it myself. I need to get another bbq with a burner, you can do darn near everything in one of those:) Thats pretty much all we use in the summers and we didn't have room to bring mine when we moved:(

 

Anyway, its the lack of contact thats irritating me, he lives a couple states away and they are not having crazy weather. All I need to hear back is "I got your msg and I'll called someone, they think they will be able to get to you xzy" This house needs major repairs thats he's neglected to the point it could easily be called substandard housing, I have good reason to believe he will not address this issue because he has not taken care of the other issues. Right now I'm just hoping we get into income based housing quickly. Roads are clear into town so were going today.

 

 

We live several states away from our rentals but are required by law to have a local contact number.  We have a property manager to handle these kinds of things for us. 

 

You really have two issues with the first being an electrical problem, the 2nd being that you can't use your stove.  Both of them require immediate attention.  There is no excuse for him to not get back to you within  24 hours that he has an electrician on the way.  Do you have a local renter advocacy group you could contact?  Is the property registered with your local city?  If so I would be calling them to come inspect immediately. 

Can you repair it yourself and withhold the amount from your rent? It might be the stove and not the electrical outlet. 

 

In my city you are allowed to withhold rent in such an instance. I am not sure of the details on how that works as it might involve the money being held by a 3rd party while the repairs and inspection are taking place.  I am not sure who that 3rd party needs to be.

[Tammyla]

I think you can expect a few days to hear back, esp if they aren't local.  That said, I see no reason not to put in another call.

[BlueTaelon]

Finally heard back from him, he never even checked his phone for my text or VM. He just noticed he had a missed call from me and called me to see if I needed something and hadn't even listened to the VM. His dad who lives about 30 min from here will come by this evening to look at it.

 

My mom boiled a bunch of eggs for us this morning and I can go back this afternoon to cook up some stuff to get some meals in the fridge that we can just reheat. This morning was meal #2 off the diet and it was a rough morning with the kids, felt so bad for dd7, she just totally melted down and was in tears over a wrinkle in her sock in her boot. She was actually upset about it. I wasn't sure she was benefiting from the diet like dd13 and I are but wow, to see that much difference an hour after eating and I'm back to feeling like I have a cold/flu thing going on due to inflammation. Hoping to have us back to paleo by dinner:)

[Soror]

FYI There are plenty of paleo crockpot meals if you do a search online. You can even roast a whole chicken in there. If you have the food for stovetop paleo you should be able to do it in the crockpot- Good Luck!

[BlueTaelon]

FYI There are plenty of paleo crockpot meals if you do a search online. You can even roast a whole chicken in there. If you have the food for stovetop paleo you should be able to do it in the crockpot- Good Luck!

 

I'm actually searching recipes online. Crockpot takes planning and what I had thawed and ready was not crockpot friendly like ground turkey. Pulling out a chicken from the freezer though and found a chili recipe I can make if I cook the turkey at my moms today.

[Soror]

I've cooked a whole chicken from frozen before and other meats as well. I'm not the best about remembering to plan either.