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

[Anonymous]

How do you know that she reset the temperature to 69 before she left at 9PM? How do you know that she didn't reset it at 2AM when she returned home. Many people learned to turn the temp down at night when everyone is sleeping and under covers. In our house growing up (before programmable thermostats), the rule was the first person who got up turned the temp up and the last person to go to bed, turned it down. And we used 72-74 in the daytime (warmer in the winter because some rooms didn't heat as well) and 68 at night. She maybe she thought to turn the temp down and save money, assuming that you would turn it back up when you got up.

[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?

You really have a low tolerance for other people, OP.

How do you know she knew you'd reset it on purpose? Maybe she noticed that you usually keep it at 69 and that it was higher. She might have lowered it BECAUSE she was thinking of you.

Honestly, you don't really sound all that cut out for living with other people.

[Anonymous]

Just added this to the first world problem thread.

[Anonymous]

Just talk to her OP. Everyone has different visions of what they feel is comfortable. My husband and I have constant thermostat wars. I like what he considers "freezing" and he likes what I consider "stifling".

Your renter may simply need to close the vent in the basement so it does not get too warm for her. I know if I leave the vent open in my bedroom my bedroom becomes an inferno to me.

[Anonymous]

I could not tolerate a house at 72 -- it would be stifling.

Talk to her about the temp and agree on one. If I were she I would open a window or somehting to disperse the heat. Ugh.

[Anonymous]

Yeah when the heat is set at higher than 68 at night and 70 during the day, my skin starts to dry out and crack and at the same time, I get too hot to sleep.

DH rented a room in a house with other folks who rented by the room, and one of them would turn the heat to 85 degrees. Even though DH was in the basement, the static electricity was insane, and it was so hot my skin literally burned. I ended up refusing to sleep there, and he started opening a window.

So, you should agree on an acceptable temperature. If your rooms are getting too cold, put the plastic sheeting over the windows if that's where your heat escapes, and consider a space heater or heated mattress pad for you or your kids (although I suspect your kids are FINE). Smarter to heat just the area where you sleep, rather than the entire friggin' house. Easier on your heating bills, too. And you use down comforters too, right?

[Anonymous]

There is no inherent right answer, it just depends on the agreement between you and renter. It sounds like you don't have on and you need one.

(If I was in someone's home at night and saw that they had the heat on 72, I would think I was helping by turning it down (unless they had previously said that they like to keep the heat ridiculously hight at night.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I could not tolerate a house at 72 -- it would be stifling.

Talk to her about the temp and agree on one. If I were she I would open a window or somehting to disperse the heat. Ugh.

My neighbor sets it to a balmy 84. I love her, but I hate visiting her in the winter.

[Anonymous]

I'd say something casual like, "I noticed you turned the heat down last night. Was it too warm in your room?"

Maybe you can get a small thermometer and move it around the house to see if the rooms heat evenly. As others stated, it is possible for her room to be HOT while the room next door is COLD. This is how it was in my mother's house. Very annoying, and yes, you always need to be adjusting the temperature.

I also can't imagine her trying to freeze you out by turning it down to 69 at night. My mother turned her heat down to 65 when I was growing up (this was upstate NY).

[Anonymous]

What do you normally have the heat set to?

How long has she rented?

[Anonymous]

69 is not freezing cold for crying out loud. And she's not 'in someone else's home' as others have pointed out. She pays to live there. You are probably the biggest nightmare of a landlord.

[Anonymous]

72 is very warm. 67-69 is normal room temperature.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:69 is not freezing cold for crying out loud. And she's not 'in someone else's home' as others have pointed out. She pays to live there. You are probably the biggest nightmare of a landlord.

+1. You're quibbling over 3 degrees? And agreed, she pays to live there. Her rent check makes your life more comfortable, right? She has a right to be comfortable as well.

[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.

65° is too cold at night it should be a minimum of 68°, particularly as your renter is in basement . Heat rises and basements can get cold

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is no inherent right answer, it just depends on the agreement between you and renter. It sounds like you don't have on and you need one.

(If I was in someone's home at night and saw that they had the heat on 72, I would think I was helping by turning it down (unless they had previously said that they like to keep the heat ridiculously hight at night.)

I would assume toot hat someone forgot to turn the heat down if I came home at 2am and saw it set to 72. I don't think anyone keeps their house that warm overnight, do they?

I was a renter where the landlord keep the house too warm so I kept my window open year round..,made my room comfortable temperature wise but the downside for them was they were paying to heat the great outdoors.