OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) – Neighbors near 36th and Dewey have spent weeks without sufficient heat in their apartments. Tenant David Barenz uses his oven and several heaters to get his apartment just above 60 degrees.
- Tenant David Barenz uses his oven to heat his apartment
- He has been left without sufficient heat for weeks which violates landlord tenant laws in Nebraska
- The city has sent an inspector the property
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
"It’s very frustrating,” Tenant David Barenz said.
Barenz has been living without sufficient heat in his apartment for weeks.
“I have to heat with my oven and with my fan and I have a fireplace heater for when it gets really cold I turn that on,” he said.
He uses his stove and multiple space heaters just to get his apartment barely above 60 degrees, without them, he told KMTV the temperatures in his home dip below 50 degrees.
Q: “What’s your oven at?"
A: "175.”
Unfortunately, he’s not alone. KMTV received calls from renters in Omaha who report similar problems.
According to Caitlin Cedfeldt, supervising attorney at Legal aAd of Nebraska whether the furnace isn’t working or there’s just a delay in getting fixed, not providing heat violates landlord tenant law.
“All those things are prohibited under landlord tenant law and tenants do have some remedies that are available to them for that specific instance,” Cedfeldt said.
KMTV spoke with City Council Member Danny Begley about what the city can do to fix the problem.
Q: "What can the city do to protect people in these situations?"
A: “There would have to be a complaint issued and that could come to me from the tenant or anybody and then I would turn it over to city planning to have an inspector go out and investigate the complaint if it's a safety issue with the furnace not working, electrical issue or plumbing, whatever the issue is."
According to Begley, an inspector has gone to the apartment to investigate the situation, and he is waiting for the results.
Cedfeldt said renters without heat for a long period of time should reach out to Legal Aid of Nebraska.
KMTV spoke with the building's property manager who confirmed the issue. He said it’s going to take weeks to get the parts to fix the heater.
“Four to six weeks, It'll be spring and I won’t need heat then,” Barenz.
