renters

My heat is broken and my landlord wouldn’t fix it, so I paid out of pocket for a repairman to come. Can I get reimbursed?

There’s a special kind of rage that comes from paying rent on time while your apartment feels like a walk-in freezer. When the heat goes out and your landlord drags their feet, renters often end up making a hard call—freeze, or pay out of pocket to fix the problem themselves. Space heaters get bought, technicians get called, and credit cards get swiped.
January 16, 2026 J. Clarke