Is it OK to change the temperature in someone else's house....

[Anonymous]

If you are renting a room in that house?

The lease merely states "utilities included". Renter does not contribute to heating/ac or other utility bills.

Background:

Last night about 8:30 I put my kids to bed. The thermostat was set to 69. Definitely a chill in the air so I put the 'stat on 72 before curling up in my bed with a book.

Renter leaves the house at 9PM or so for the evening. I heard her walking around the area where the thermostat is but didn't think about why.... I feel asleep. She went out and I heard her come home around 2 AM. The point of mentioning this being that she was not even home for five hours to enjoy the temperature she had just decided was the appropriate one.

This morning the kids and I woke up and the house was freezing. I couldn't think why. I checked the 'stat and it had been set back to 69 degrees.

I don't want to be unreasonable so I am looking for unbiased input. Is it OK for me to politely ask the renter not to adjust the thermostat? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Before I can give a good answer, I'm wondering how the heat disperses around the house. At my parent's house, if you turned up the heat to make their room cold, my room became a furnace. Perhaps this is the situation and the renter didn't want to come home to sleep in a warm room.

[Anonymous]

I rent out our basement and while utilities are included, the thermostat is upstairs and the renter is not to touch. My only obligation is to keep the heat at the legal level, which I think is 65.

That said, 72 is really really warm. Also, the renter could easily have solved the problem by opening a window in their room, which is pretty inefficient for your system, so perhaps you should be happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Before I can give a good answer, I'm wondering how the heat disperses around the house. At my parent's house, if you turned up the heat to make their room cold, my room became a furnace. Perhaps this is the situation and the renter didn't want to come home to sleep in a warm room.

Her area is the basement and I've never slept there, so I don't know how it heats. I think that the basement is generally too cold, and the heat rises, so really I'm surprised if it was too hot. If there is a difference in temp, I believe it would only be within a few degrees. It's not possible in this house that one area would be say, 75 or 80 and the rest of the house 70.

I think she was taking a shower, blow drying her hair, getting dressed and I'm not surprised if a person would feel a bit warmer at that point than the rest of us. I know when I'm doing stuff like that I feel a few degrees warmer than I might otherwise.

But you are correct - clearly her reason for adjusting the temp was her own comfort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I rent out our basement and while utilities are included, the thermostat is upstairs and the renter is not to touch. My only obligation is to keep the heat at the legal level, which I think is 65.

That said, 72 is really really warm. Also, the renter could easily have solved the problem by opening a window in their room, which is pretty inefficient for your system, so perhaps you should be happy.

When you say the renter is not to touch, how did you communicate that? Is it in the lease or did you merely discuss?

[Anonymous]

I'd prob ask if 72 makes her room too warm and if so get a space heater for your room. I'd prob ask her not to adjust the temp when you're homw w/o asking you first though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Before I can give a good answer, I'm wondering how the heat disperses around the house. At my parent's house, if you turned up the heat to make their room cold, my room became a furnace. Perhaps this is the situation and the renter didn't want to come home to sleep in a warm room.

Her area is the basement and I've never slept there, so I don't know how it heats. I think that the basement is generally too cold, and the heat rises, so really I'm surprised if it was too hot. If there is a difference in temp, I believe it would only be within a few degrees. It's not possible in this house that one area would be say, 75 or 80 and the rest of the house 70.

I think she was taking a shower, blow drying her hair, getting dressed and I'm not surprised if a person would feel a bit warmer at that point than the rest of us. I know when I'm doing stuff like that I feel a few degrees warmer than I might otherwise.

But you are correct - clearly her reason for adjusting the temp was her own comfort.

she may have adjusted the temp and then forgotten to change it back again before she left. Either way, rather than wondering and posting on DCUM, why don't you sit down and have a talk with her about what would be an acceptable temperature setting for her and your family? -Not to put down your decision to post on DCUM, but it sounds like you're a little mystified by her decision to adjust the temperature, and a straightforward chat would easily and quickly dispel any mystery.

[Anonymous]

If she's renting, it's her house too.

[Anonymous]

I completely agree with 10:11 and would just like to add, when you rent out a room to someone your home becomes their home too. So it's not "someone else's house." It's a shared home. If you don't want to truly share your home you my want to find a different way to cover the mortgage. As a renter, I would hate feeling like a permanent guest in my home and would quickly move if that's how I was made to feel. A revolving door on the basement unit could add a lot of instability to your kids' lives. Better to have a tenant you truly like who almost becomes part of the family, if you can find one.

[Anonymous]

Why don't you just cut off her access to heat? While you're at it, restrict the AC and water use too. That'll show her. Damn renter, wanting to be comfortable in her own abode. What a nerve!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I completely agree with 10:11 and would just like to add, when you rent out a room to someone your home becomes their home too. So it's not "someone else's house." It's a shared home. If you don't want to truly share your home you my want to find a different way to cover the mortgage. As a renter, I would hate feeling like a permanent guest in my home and would quickly move if that's how I was made to feel. A revolving door on the basement unit could add a lot of instability to your kids' lives. Better to have a tenant you truly like who almost becomes part of the family, if you can find one.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why don't you just cut off her access to heat? While you're at it, restrict the AC and water use too. That'll show her. Damn renter, wanting to be comfortable in her own abode. What a nerve!

That's not fair. Don't be absurd.

The tenant also needs to recognize that there are three other people in this home and that the comfort of others ALSO counts. I am sincerely looking for input as to how to address this issue when clearly there are incompatible needs. I understand that I am biased to my own perspective which is why I am seeking other perspectives before talking to her. I do want to be sensitive to her needs. If I didn't want that I could just install a temperature gauge that she can't access.

I think as a landlord I have an obligation to provide a home within a reasonable temperature range. But I do think it oversteps a boundary to, 30 minutes after the homeowner (with small children) turns on the heat, turn it off - then leave. Do you have no opinion whatsoever as to whether that might be the tiniest bit.... selfish?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don't you just cut off her access to heat? While you're at it, restrict the AC and water use too. That'll show her. Damn renter, wanting to be comfortable in her own abode. What a nerve!

That's not fair. Don't be absurd.

The tenant also needs to recognize that there are three other people in this home and that the comfort of others ALSO counts. I am sincerely looking for input as to how to address this issue when clearly there are incompatible needs. I understand that I am biased to my own perspective which is why I am seeking other perspectives before talking to her. I do want to be sensitive to her needs. If I didn't want that I could just install a temperature gauge that she can't access.

I think as a landlord I have an obligation to provide a home within a reasonable temperature range. But I do think it oversteps a boundary to, 30 minutes after the homeowner (with small children) turns on the heat, turn it off - then leave. Do you have no opinion whatsoever as to whether that might be the tiniest bit.... selfish?

Freaking TALK TO HER. Come to a reasonable agreement. Problem solved.

[Anonymous]

You said yourself you don't know how the heat is distributed down there. You've never slept in her space. Talk to her.

[Anonymous]

72 is hot, and the only way to cool a hot room is to open a window. You need to find a better solution for keeping warm upstairs, or else your tenant will open a window and your "utilities included" will skyrocket.